Kitsune Lina
by Thrythlind
Summary: Lina loses her magic to a curse for which there is no cure. Complete, Slayers Born is this fic's sequel.
1. Watch your Diet

Kitsune Lina

## Watch your Diet

  
  
"This will get that pesky little sorceress," the woman laughed as she continued mixing the substances on the desk in front of her. "And in the name of the monster Zomalgustar, I shall have my revenge!!!! Hahahahahahahaha!!!!"   
"Now for the last ingredient of the curse," The green-haired princess turned to leashed fox and bent down with a knife.  
"Grr," *snap*  
"AHH!!! Get off my face!! Get off my face!! That hurts you little creep!!!" The puff of fur snapped one more time and then rushed off, leaving Martina with a number of shallow cuts and scratches. "Laugh all you want you nasty little beast. I still got your blood. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"  
  
"Real lake dragon cuisine!!" someone was shouting.  
"Did you here that?" Lina demanded of the nearest person. The other Slayers were still at the inn, she had gotten bored and decided to go looking for some fun. Maybe a pickpocket or something to beat up.  
"Real lake dragon cuisine, come and get it while it lasts!"  
"There it is again!!" Lina rushed through the crowd of people, getting bogged down at first by sheer numbers. At least until she began rapid firing dill brandos. After that it didn't take her long to reach the vendor calling out dragon cuisine.  
"Lake dragon cuisine!" the woman shouted again.  
"Lake dragon cuisine, you said lake dragon cuisine right?" Lina demanded.  
"Err...yeah," the woman appeared quite nervous, but that was to be expected considering how Lina managed to get there. Not to mention the mob of annoyed people gathering behind the sorceress. "Would you like some?"  
"YES!!!" Lina screamed in her face. The vendor shakily handed over a plate of wonderously prepared meat. "GIMME! GIMME!"   
Lina snatched the plate from the scared woman's hands and began tearing into the meat with a vengence. She finished quickly and then stared at the plate for a moment.  
Hey, this is just roast beef, you...." the vendor was no where to be seen.  
"You know she looked a little familiar," Lina scratched her head. "Oh well. Hey what are you all staring at?" She turned to the mob.  
"Just who do you think you are?" somebody demanded.  
"Me, I'm Lina Inverse, who did you think I was?"  
"LINA INVERSE!!!!!!! NOT THAT!!!" Suddenly the street was deserted. Lina sweatdropped.  
"What's that about?" Then she shrugged and started walking irritably back to the inn. "At least I didn't have to pay for it."  
  
Amelia got up and stretched out the kinks in her muscles. She looked over to Lina's bed and instantly noticed that the red-headed sorceress wasn't there.  
"I don't get it," Amelia yawned. "Her clothes are still here, all of them, where could she be?"  
*Thump*  
"Oww! What the---?" Amelia looked under the bed and found a naked Lina rubbing her head.  
"Miss Lina? What are you doing under the bed?"  
"I don't know I just...aahhh!!" Lina screamed. "Where are my clothes?"  
"They're on the bed up here." Amelia said simply.  
"Give them to me!" Amelia did so, and the room was filled with the sounds of Lina trying to get dressed under the bed.   
"What's this?" there was a long pause. "Ewww!!!!" A half-dressed Lina rushed out from under the bed and into the closet. Amelia looked under the bed again and saw a half-eaten rat.  
"Miss Lina, are you okay?" Amelia asked, trying not to gag.  
"I'm fine, just a little confused," Lina said coming out of the closet completely dressed with the exception of her gloves which were stuck in her belt. "Don't tell the guys about this, okay?"  
"Uh, sure," Amelia said, following the sorceress out.  
  
Breakfast went about normal, Gourry and Lina ripped through the food, supported in the endeavour a little by Amelia while Zelgadis contentedly supped his coffee, ignoring the other three's antics.  
The routine was cut short when some was thrown into their table.  
"That does it!" Lina shoutted.  
"Oh no," Gourry sighed.  
"Miss Lina," Amelia started, concilatory. "Please don't do anything."  
"I'd like to get out of an inn while its still intact for once," Zelgadis agreed.  
"No he's getting it!!" Lina shouted. Everybody at the table tensed. "FIREBALL!!!" Nothing happened.  
"Look at the little girl that thinks she's a sorceress." The inn brawl stopped as the first laugh was heard.  
"FLAME ARROW!!! FREEZE ARROW!!! DILL BRANDO!!" With each attempted spell the laughing got worse. Lina was steaming as she prepared one more spell. "Darkness beyond twilight, redder than blood that flows..."   
"Lina don't..." Zelgadis held out a hand to stop Gourry.  
"Nothing's going to happen." Zelgadis assured him. The three of them watched Lina with growing concern.  
She reached out desperately finishing the incantation, but drawing no power to her.  
"Go on home little girl," someone laughed.  
"Yeah you wouldn't make it in the real world."  
"Stop it!! I AM a sorceress! I'm Lina Inverse!!!" The laughing got worse.  
"Lina Inverse, yeah right, you're the bandit killer, sure." Gourry stood up and walked forward to the most recent speaker.  
"Excuse me, are you laughing at my friend?" he asked.  
"Yeah, what of it?" Gourry smiled and cracked his knuckles.  
"I don't need help!" Lina shouted. "I'm...I'm..." Lina ran out of the inn, apparently on the verge of crying.  
"Miss Lina, wait!!" Amelia followed her quickly.  
"Gourry," Zelgadis adressed the blonde swordsman as he stood up.  
"Yes?"  
"Shall we?" Gourry cracked his knuckles again, smiling.  
  
Amelia found Lina a few blocks away, frantically trying to cast a spell, any spell.  
"What's the matter Lina?" Amelia asked. "Are you on your period?"  
"No I am NOT!" Lina shouted. "Do you think I'd even try to cast a spell if I were?"  
"Then why can't you...you know?"  
"I DON'T KNOW!! I DON'T KNOW!!" Lina slumped to her knees. "I don't know." She noticed a glint of silver beneath her and instinctively reached forward to pick it up. The moment she scooped the coin into her palm she screamed, dropping it again.  
"What's happened," Amelia asked nervous.  
"That thing's burning hot!!" Lina said, she turned her hand to show Amelia. "Look." There was a circular brand mark where her flesh had touch the coin.  
Amelia bent down to look at the coin, it didn't look hot. She touched it experimentally and found it cool to the touch.  
"What are you..." Lina started as Amelia picked it up. The Princess looked worriedly over at Lina, who just appeared to be in shock. "How can you hold that?" The sound of an explosion further down the street signalled the downhill slide of the inn battle.  
"It's cool to the touch," Amelia said. "but its silver. Oh no..." Amelia looked at the sorceress pityingly.  
"What do you mean its silver," Lina asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"  
"You woke up naked under the bed, silver burns you, and you can't cast magic. You know this better than I do Miss Lina what do _you_ think is the problem?"  
"But that's impossible," Lina protested. "I can't be a..."  
"Werecreature," Amelia ended, nodding. Lina slumped.  
"Last night was the last day of the new moon, that gives two weeks until the full moon and it gets really bad," Lina said resignedly. "Don't tell them anything about this."  
"We really..."  
"Please, Amelia."  
"Alright, Miss Lina."  
"Thank you," Lina said as Gourry and Zelgadis appeared around the corner.  
  
  
  
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	2. Suspicions Confirmed

Kitsune Lina

## Suscipsions Confirmed

  
  
"Hey Lina," Gourry called out. "What's the matter?"  
"I...must have caught something," Lina said, subdued. Zelgadis arched an   
eyebrow, "Uh oh, that probably gave too much away." Fortunately he didn't   
ask any questions.  
"It's not...." Gourry twiddled his fingers, embarrassed. "....that time   
of month...is it?"  
"No," Lina smashed an uppercut into the swordsman's chin. "It is NOT   
that time of the month! I wouldn't even bother casting spells if it was."  
"So what exactly did you catch?" Zelgadis asked.  
"How should I know?" Lina demanded. "Look, let's just get back to   
travelling and maybe it will go away." Amelia shook her head, pityingly, Lina   
was still hoping it wasn't lycanthropy.  
"Yeah, she doesn't seem sick," Gourry noted, wearily.  
"Nasty burn on your hand there," Zelgadis pointed to the circular mark.   
Lina blushed and hid her hands behind her body.  
"Come on now, those people in the inn were bad enough," Amelia lectured.   
"We're supposed to be her friends, we shouldn't be hounding her like this."  
"Yeah, did you want people poking at you when Rezo made you a chimera?"   
Lina demanded. Zelgadis arched his eyebrow again, "Damn it, I gave him too   
much again."  
"Point taken, but if she can't cast magic, she shouldn't..." It was   
obvious that he had come to the conclusion that the situation was a little   
more permanent than Lina or Amelia wanted them to know.  
"I shouldn't what?" Lina asked, dangerously.  
"Shouldn't keep travelling with us," he continued addressing Amelia,   
merely glancing at Lina. "She might get hurt."  
"Yeah she's not that much without her magic," Gourry agreed.  
"Excuse me, I'm right here!" Lina shouted.  
"I'm aware of that," Zelgadis said. "What's your point?" Lina winced.  
"Okay, THAT is enough," Amelia shouted. Everybody looked at her   
surprised.  
"Now, I have some things to do in this city any way, you two might as   
well go on to the next town and we'll meet you there tomorrow."  
"You want us to split up?" Zelgadis asked, not really expecting an answer.  
"Lina needs some time away from you two to settle down, and you both need   
to find some manners, so yes, we'll meet you at the Dragon Ball Inn,   
tomorrow. Okay?"  
"Do I get any say in this?" Lina asked.  
"We'll see you there then," Zelgadis agreed, reluctantly.  
"Fine, come on Lina," Amelia responded. The princess grabbed Lina's arm   
and walked determinedly out of the alley.  
"She's mad," Gourry said, unnecessarily. "Hey Zelgadis, did you ignore   
her again?"  
"What are you talking about?" Zelgadis asked, still trying to figure out   
what the girls were hiding. "Why would I ignore Amelia?"  
"Oh, so you know she has crush on you then?" Zelgadis facefaulted  
"WHAT?!?"  
  
"Would you let go of me, Amelia?" Lina demanded.  
"You should have told them," Amelia said. "It's neither just or fair to   
keep this from them."  
"I'll tell them, okay," Lina promised. "Just stop acting like I can't   
make my own decisions! I'm still me, I just can't cast...anything."  
"Let's get some shopping done, and not think about it for a little   
while," Amelia suggested sweetly.  
"Your still doing it," Lina said. "And what are we shopping for anyway?"   
Then they stopped in front of an armorers forge. "Oh."  
  
"They were hiding something," Zelgadis muttered.  
"Who were hiding something," Gourry asked as they walked along.  
"Amelia and Lina!"  
"Oh, where are they anyway?" Zelgadis reached up and nearly tore some of   
his wire hair out.  
"They stayed behind to do 'things' at the last town," Zelgadis said   
through gritted teeth.  
"Oh yeah, that's right," Gourry nodded. "I wonder why Lina can't use   
magic."  
"I wonder that as well," Zelgadis agreed. "But it appears that we'll   
have to wait a little while for answers."  
  
"Amelia, we really don't have to do this," Lina pleaded. Her hands and   
feet were manacled together forcing her to curl into a ball. Her clothes and   
new supplies were set off to the side of their camp site. They were about an   
hour away from the main road. "You and I both know that I won't be dangerous   
until the full moon."  
"Have you ever met a werecreature?" Amelia asked.  
"Other than burning them to a crisp, no," Lina admitted.  
"Neither have I," Amelia said. "I'd rather not take the chance."  
"These things hurt you know," Lina complained.  
"Yeah, that's probably the silver threaded through the iron," Amelia told   
her.  
"The what?" Lina was conscious of her hair standing on end, and an   
itching sensation at the base of her spine.  
"Well, the sun's going down," Amelia noted.  
"I...oww...noti...err...ced.." Lina responded. Amelia whirled to see   
Lina in the middle of a transformation. Amelia gasped as she saw a short   
lengthed red fur erupt over Lina's body. Her teeth lengthened, and her ears   
grew large, pointed and coated in black fur. All the while a bushy red tail   
with a white tip was growing as her legs were changing shape. It sounded to   
the princess as if her mentor and friend was in a lot of pain, but she was   
afraid to approach. Even if she could bear to get near the obvious were   
creature now, she couldn't think of anything to do.  
The process took nearly a full two minutes, and left Lina panting and   
exhausted on the ground.  
"Miss Lina?" Amelia asked cautiously.  
"I'm...still me..." Lina gasped wearily, voice hoarse. She looked up and   
Amelia saw that the face was still mostly human, just covered in fur with   
reflective eys and long canines. The black furred ears, drooping dejectedly   
at the moment, were the most obvious inhuman feature. In fact the whole   
seemed more cute than frightening. "The reports are right."  
"I guess so," Amelia agreed. "So on the new moon you'll be a   
normal...uh, fox I guess...Most nights you'll be like this, and on the full   
moon you'll..."  
"Be a rampaging infectious monster..." Lina finished. Then she started   
crying.  
"Miss Lina, it's okay," Amelia gingerly reached over and patted the   
sobbing fox-girl. "We'll find a way to cure you."  
"Just get me out of these manacles and stop trying to cheer me up," Lina   
asked, half-growling. The sound was more resigned and depressed than angry.   
Lina couldn't help but notice Amelia's reluctance to approach her.  
"You shouldn't give up Lina," Amelia tried to comfort her friend as she   
hesitantly unlocked the manacles. Amelia winced as she saw the rashes the   
silver threaded metal had made on her friend's wrists and ankles. "Zelgadis   
hasn't given up, and he's been a chimera for years. You've only been a   
were-fox a couple of days."  
Lina only paid half attention to Amelia's commentary as she got dressed.   
The red-head had to cut a hole in the back of her breeches to let the tail   
out, and her shoes didn't fit over her fox-like feet. Otherwise everything   
was relatively normal.  
"The chimera curse is unique, lycanthropy is documented," Lina sighed, it   
came out a whuff. She felt the steel of the short sword she had just bought   
that afternoon, and glanced at the studded leather armor and greaves. She   
was going to have to get used to those. "There is no cure, and you know   
that."  
"We don't know that Lina..." Amelia started. Then Lina's tail began   
twitching wildly.  
"The only thing I can do now is find out who did this to me!" Lina   
shouted.  
  
  
  
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	3. Breaking News

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Breaking News  
  
  
  
Zelgadis sipped his coffee and stared out the door, waiting for Amelia and Lina to walk through the door. He thought back to the scene from the previous day and worried a little more.  
  
Upon entering town they had quickly discovered a large gathering of people around a particular wall. A number of the crowd appeared to be bandits and other ne'erdowells. Intrigued, Zelgadis had approached cautiously to see what the excitement was about.  
"Ha, look at that," somebody laughed.  
"Do you think we can believe it?"  
"Either its true and banditry is safe again or its a hoax and we're no better off than before."  
"Yeah, life should get easier without the bandit killer to stomp us into the ground." That caught Zelgadis's ear, he heard somebody stop behind him and turned to see Gourry standing there.  
"I don't like the way they're talking about Lina." The swordsman commented. Zelgadis moved forward a few feet and looked at the paper tacked to the wall that was causing such a fuss.  
"Lina Inverse has lost her magic."  
"Damn it," Zelgadis muttered as he worked his way out of the crowd. "Somebody is playing with Lina again."  
"Should we go back to find Amelia and Lina?" Gourry asked.  
"How would we find them?" Zelgadis asked. "We'll meet them as we planned and work from there."  
  
Zelgadis watched the growing light outside and continued waiting. Amelia hadn't said at what time in the morning the girls would get there, just that they would be there in the morning.  
  
Amelia yawned and stretched, she'd had the last watch of the night, and now it was time to gather the camp together and leave for town. Zelgadis and Gourry would be waiting for them.  
"Come on, Miss Lina," Amelia said, yawning. "We have to get going." She kicked the bedroll lightly and frowned. "Miss Lina?" Amelia sat down to more thoroughly shake the...ex-sorceress. Her first attempt proved that whatever was in the bedroll, wasn't Lina. Amelia opened the roll and found a collection of leaves and twigs.  
It didn't take much more looking for Amelia to discover that the rest of Lina's gear had been taken, including the manacles and their key. Pinned to Amelia's bag was a short note.  
"Zel's right I shouldn't travel with you, don't tell them anything, I'd rather they think I just lost my power than let them know this. - Lina." Amelia sighed and realized that Lina was probably hours gone by now.  
"I didn't act very tolerant last night," Amelia thought to herself. "I'd better go meet Zelgadis. Lina knows how to take care of herself." She scanned about the campsite one more time before packing up and heading for the next town.  
  
"There was a woman selling lake dragon cuisine here two days ago, do you know where I can find her?" Lina asked the shop-owner in front of her. He squinted at her, but with the hood of her new cloak up, couldn't recognize the sorceress that had caused so much havoc on the day Lina mentioned. The armor and weaponry also helped conceal the sorceress's identity.  
"Yeah, an obvious fraud," he answered. Lina tried to avoid growling in irritation. "Left after she got one customer, some sorceress with an attitude."  
"Do you know where she went?"  
"Yeah, I think she had a room in that inn over there," the shopkeeper pointed across the street. "Quite a shame, good cook going by her product, shouldn't have to defraud people."  
"Thanks," Lina said reluctantly. She looked up to the sky and saw that it wasn't yet afternoon, she had plenty of time. The transformation back to completely human form hadn't been much less painful than the transformation to a fox girl. She was trying to figure out why the first night went by without her noticing it still. This line of thought ended as she approached the innkeeper.  
"Someone selling food across the street?" the innkeeper repeated. "Oh yeah, I remember her, that crazy green-haired girl with the weird laugh. Lina's eyes narrowed.  
"Where can I find her?"  
"She left town yesterday I think," the innkeeper answered. "She said something about needing to pass some news along. Something about the bandit killer losing all her power." Lina restrained herself from attacking the man and left the building.  
"Martina, of course its Martina," Lina muttered.  
  
"Amelia?" Zelgadis addressed her as she entered the Dragon Ball Inn. "Where's Lina?"  
"She left on her own last night, I don't think she wanted to be a burden to us," Amelia didn't like to lie, but it wasn't her secret to let out.  
"What is wrong with her Amelia?" Zelgadis asked. "I've decided that it is some kind of curse, the fact that someone is running around telling everybody that Lina has lost her bagic proves that." Amelia had seen the signs and crowds, and didn't like the look of them. Lina could be in quite a bit of trouble.  
"You'll have to ask her when you next see her," Amelia told him. "Where's Gourry?"  
"He's still asleep. You think we will see her again?"  
"I hope so," Amelia admitted. "I'd like to apologize, I don't think I treated her well last night. Our behaviour might have something to do with why she left."  
"Perhaps I was a bit callous," Zelgadis admitted.  
"Where is this next cure anyway?" Zelgadis rolled his eyes at her.  
"I want to talk to a certain hermit that lives north of here," Zelgadis answered. "He apparently knows something about beating ones own curses."  
  
Xellos rubbed his head and grumbled a little underneath the smile. That woman got to him far too easily. Why the world did he put up with that when it didn't involve something his master had asked him to do. Too make matters worse, as far as he was concerned, he was actually now considering how to get back into the dragon maid's good graces. Or at least as close as he could get to being in her good graces.  
Xellos's planning stopped when he saw the poster.  
"Lina Inverse has lost her magic." The mazoku's eyes widened and he glared at the sign angrily.  
"That is an ugly rumor," he muttered. "Usually I like ugly rumors, but I'd prefer they weren't about my friends." The purple haired mazoku appeared in front of the gathered men and women and glared at them.   
"Would someone mind telling me who put this up?" Xellos's smooth voice ran chills down the spines of the gathered citizens and bandits. "Well?"  
"It was some green-haired girl, strange laugh" one of them told him, frightened. Xellos teleported away and frowned.  
"That Martina girl again," Xellos snapped. He was angry, and not all because of the situation he imagined Lina to be in. He wasn't about to admit it, but he was looking to get back a little at Filia. Let her be ignored for a couple of days and then consider...what...consider that he seemed to accept things from her that would get other people killed.  
No, this was nothing to do with his personal affairs. This was him going off to help a friend pure and simple. Now he had to find Lina and the others.  
  
  
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	4. Gathering of Jackals

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Gathering of Jackals  
  
  
  
"You're acting like we shouldn't go look for Lina," Zelgadis noted, as Gourry came down the stairs yawning.  
"You don't think I want to make sure she's safe?" Amelia responded, insulted.  
"Make sure who's safe?" Gourry asked. "And where's Lina."  
"We don't know," Zelgadis said.  
"I don't think we should get involved, Zelgadis-san," Amelia said once again. She hated her own thoughts and kept them to herself. She didn't want to admit that it was probably a good thing that Lina was gone. "Zelgadis-san might think he's a monster, but Lina actually is."  
"Well, wouldn't she start from where this all happened?" Gourry asked. Amelia and Zelgadis blinked and looked at the swordsman as he started to order breakfast.  
"That's a good idea," Zelgadis said, surprised. "Perhaps we should look for her at the last town."  
"What about this hermit of yours," Amelia asked. "Shouldn't you be heading to see him about your cure?"  
"I didn't suggest that she stop travelling with us just to leave her to every bandit looking for a reputation," Zelgadis asserted. "The hermit will be there after we find Lina."  
"What if she doesn't want to be found?"  
"It never stopped us from following Zel," Gourry noted, making a second useful observation in one conversation.  
"What are you hiding, Amelia?" Zelgadis asked.  
"You'll have to ask Lina," was all Amelia said.  
"You sound like Xellos," Gourry noted.  
"Speak of the devil," Xellos whispered from the shadows. He watched the three make preparations to leave, not wanting to reveal himself to them. The resulting suscipision, chaos and anger would be delicious, but it would just be diversion. "So there really is something wrong with Lina." Besides, Amelia and Zelgadis were more than making up for the lack.  
He wanted this to be a short jaunt, Xelas wouldn't tolerate him being away from his post for too long. He affirmed to himself again that the only reason he was out and about was that he needed some time away from that over-violent, insolent, dragon-girl. Xellos cast about with his senses for Lina's magical signature while the Slayers beneath him gathered there things and waited for Gourry to finish devouring breakfast. He couldn't feel anything, either she was out of his range. Or else whatever had happened to her hadn't just blocked her magical power, it had stripped it.  
"She must be out of range," Xellos decided.  
  
Lina hurt all over, she couldn't move any part of her body, breathing ached, the blood roared in her ears. All she could do was stare through the trees and wait for the sun to set. She felt herself healing slowly, but at this rate it would be a while before she even looked alive to the outside world, much less be able to move. The fact that her new state of being kept her alive didn't soothe her much. If she could still cast magic, she never would have even had a problem.  
She shouldn't even be in this situation now, she had been cocky. After all, bandits had never caused her a real problem before. The amount she had depended on magic was painfully clear now, very painfully. She ran over the scene in her mind one more time, analyzing her mistakes again.  
  
"Okay, you little creep," Lina snapped as she landed from the tree in front of the courier. "Who paid you to deliver these?" She snatched the scroll case from his hands and recovered one of the "Lina Inverse has lost her power." posters.  
"What's it to you?" the courier asked nervously, taking in the hooded cloak, armor and swords. "You're a bandit aren't you?"  
"I just want to know if the information is genuine," Lina asserted. She paused and sniffed at the air then, something had attracted her attention. Lina didn't know if the enhanced senses were a bad sign or not, her sense of smell especially was getting more acute with each passing hour.  
"What does it matter if its genuine or not?" the courier asked nervously. Lina shook away the uncomfortable feeling the "scent" gave her. It was probably just her imagining things anyway.  
"I don't like being used as a decoy," Lina told the courier. "Now where is the person that hired you to deliver these."  
"Are you interferring with the mail, little girl?" a voice behind her demanded. Lina knew she wasn't imagining things now as the sound of men surrounding her and the courier carried through the forest.  
"You know what," a second bandit asked.  
"What?"  
"I think she's the 'bandit killer' and I'll bet that information there is correct."  
"Are you crazy," Lina shouted. "If I was her, I'd have dug myself into a hole by now."  
"Hey, isn't Karl a survivor of the Bandit Killer?" someone demanded. The courier edged away and was blocked by two large bandits. "Oh let him go, everybody should have that information after all." The circle of bandits parted a little to let the man by, he ran at a breakneck pace away from the developing scene.  
"Yeah, let's pull that hood back and see if Karl recognizes her."  
"Just try it," Lina snapped, drawing her blade. She looked frantically for a way out, but found nothing. She should have left when the first twinge of danger came to her, now she was stuck. "I don't want to die quite yet, I still have to find Martina, and _thank_ her."  
"I don't care, I just want that sword of hers."  
"Oh, you want that little baby sword?" somebody teased.  
"Mind your own business, let's just kill her and figure out who she is later."  
The following battle didn't last long, Lina had put up a good fight, but without magic there were just too many of them. Still five of them weren't going to be anybody's problem again. What happened after the battle was the real horror.  
"It looks like she's still alive," the speaker ran her through one more time as he spoke. The pain was incredible, but Lina wasn't able to respond. "Look at her eyes."  
"Don't be stupid," somebody closed her eyes, but she lifted them open moments later.  
"Yeah, that's the 'bandit killer' allright," a burn-scarred man she assumed must be Karl told the others. He lifted her head up by bloodsoaked her and spat in her face, Lina blinked. The man let her head drop back down to the ground, it hit hard. "She's still alive." He kicked her, several times, Lina thought she felt one of her remaining ribs break.  
"It's just a reflex action, don't worry about it," he closed her eyes, again, but she popped them open. She was going to make sure she knew who these people were. "See, look, they just pop open. It's odd, but we've all seen dead bodies do stuff like that before."  
"Come on let's get out of here," somebody said. "We've pretty much taken everything of value." The men around her stood up and started walking away, all agreeing in various ways. Each of them paused to give Lina's conscious, but immobile body a kick or stab. Lina thanked L-sama that there wasn't a single silver weapon among the lot of them.  
"I wonder what she used the manacles for?" The voice was fading away, she was alone in a ditch on the side of the road in the middle of the roads. Which brought her to her current situation.  
Her feet itched now, it was a good sign, the feeling was returning to her limbs. It was still taking to long, somebody might come along and decide to do something more than just beat the bandit killer's corpse. She sighed and wondered just how long she was going to have to stay in this hideous state of immobile consciousness.It wasn't all that much longer, fortunately, as the sun began to sink and the transformation was triggered, her rate of healing accelerated. The pain was incredible as bones knitted and nerves reconnected to each other. It was comparatively short lived though, and Lina was soon nearly completely healed. As soon as the full transformation ended the healing slowed down again, but it was still at much higher rate than before.  
"First piece of business is to get my stuff back," Lina growled, tail swishing smoothly. "Without them learning it was me." She didn't want it getting around that she was a were-creature, and if the rumors spread that she was dead, well that was so much the better.  
If she suspected her senses were enhanced in human form they were incredible now. She had been too preoccupied with moping on the previous night to notice them. For one thing it was easy to follow the bandit's trail through the woods, and moving silently and swiftly.  
The bandit lair was more of a challenge, but the level of drunkeness and chaos still made it easy for her to get in and out with her stuff and a little extra without being seen. She left only one exception, one of her earrings planted in one of the bandit's packs to implicate him in the loot's disappearance.  
Lina sighed as she left to the sound of a rising fight, but if she had fought some of them would have escaped. Then Lina Inverse would be known as a werecreature and she'd never be able to find Martina. The fighting grew louder as Lina began travelling down the road, hood pulled deep over her head. As she neared the next town Lina settled in to another solitary camp site to wait for daylight to come.   
  
  
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	5. Findings False and True

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Findings False and True  
  
  
  
"Look it at," the man with the eye-patch gloated over his prize, a single globular earring. "Its hers I tell you. We took it off her corpse right after returning a little of wot she gave to our profession."  
"All I see is a pretty bauble," the man he was talking to grumbled. "You think I'm going to believe you because of that, get real. Show me a head or something and I'll believe you then."  
"I lost five o' me crew taking her down," the patch complained. "And then three more when we found them trying pinch some o' the loot. Still can't find ware the bugger 'id the rest o' 'er gear. But he'll be talking to soon enough I wager."  
"Bring out all the gold and jewels you want, no one will believe you until they see the corpse."  
"Well, we can show that as well, we can," the eye patch answered.  
"Excuse us," The two large bandits turned to face a blue-skinned person dressed all in baige. The hand on his hilt spoke volumes.  
"Would you mind telling us where you got that earring," this time the speaker was a tall blonde swordsman.  
"Wot's it to you then?" the patch asked. "Wot is you, bounty hunters, bandits, mercenaries?"  
"Please just tell us where you found the earring," the third member of the party, a young woman with black hair, asked reluctantly.  
"Soldiers o' fortune lookin for a rep," he jabbed his thumb at the three as he turned back to his amused companion. "I pulled it off the dra matta's corpse, so go somewhere else for your fun." The girl winced, while blonde looked pained.  
"Take us to the body," the blue skinned warrior demanded icily.  
"You gonna make me?" the man with the eye patch stood up, towering over the blue swordsman. "Go ahead and try!" He punched out and was surprised when his much smaller opponent easily stopped the attack with one hand.  
"Try that again and I'll rip the arm off," he promised. The blonde stepped in front of the other bandit, cutting off his escape.  
"You're coming along too, don't want to miss your proof do you?"  
"Fine! I'll take you to the body, but after that I'll dice you so fine they'll never find the pieces." The threat didn't bother the three whatsoever. Nobody in the tavern interferred with the unofficial arrest as the slayers escorted the bandits out of the building and eventually out of the city.  
A little more than forty-five minutes later they came to the battle site.  
"We tossed her in that ditch o'er there," Zelgadis shoved the veritable giant to the ground and followed Amelia to the indicated spot.  
The grass was still stained red in places and the remains of a hauberk of studded leather lay discarded in a little to the side. The item was useless for all the great bloody holes in it.  
"That's the armor I bought for her," Amelia whispered, stricken.  
"There's no body," Zelgadis noted.  
"Is it Lina?" Gourry called out, not taking his eyes off the two bandits.  
"No body," Zelgadis called back.  
"No body, eh?" the patch's companion repeated. "I know you were full of hot air."  
"Listen you, there weren't much left after we was through, I suspect that for the past two days the crows have had a wonderful feast." he started to laugh but was cut off as Zelgadis roared and rushed at the bandit from across the field. Before the big man could react the inhumanly fast chimera had skewered and gutted him. Coming away from the eye-patch's corpse in a circular motion, Zelgadis took the second bandits head.  
Finished with the thugs Zelgadis planted his sword point down in the ground and kneeled, head against the hilt.  
"We found Lina," he said hoarsely. He turned to Amelia. "We can go talk to that hermit about my cure now."  
"Shouldn't we do something," Gourry asked.  
"We could bury the armor," Amelia suggested. "Raise a cairn."  
"It's the least we can do," Zelgadis agreed. Gourry nodded.  
"I think I saw some rocks over this way," the blonde noted. And the three friends set about giving their lost comrade a memorial.  
"Perhaps this is the best," Amelia thought to herself, hating that she could even consider it.  
  
"I'm looking for the courier that delivered this...trash," Xellos handed the poster over and sneered.  
"It's not my business to keep track of who puts up what on that board for every passing mercenary."  
"Someone else has asked about this?" Xellos arched an eyebrow. "What did they look like."  
"Couldn't see her face, she kept it hidden under a hood the entire time." Xellos tapped his foot irritably, this day was almost finished, and he didn't have but one or two more before Xelas came looking for him. Filia would be needing some help as well, but he actively avoided thinking about that.  
"Can you tell me anything about her?"  
"Short girl, spoke quietly, I think she had red hair." Xellos began to hope that he had struck upon an incredibly lucky event.  
"And do you know where she is?"  
"She was on the verge of falling asleep in front of me, sent her to that inn over there, two days ago." Xellos turned to regard the building. "Haven't seen her leave, but..." he shrugged.  
"Thank you good sir," Xellos smiled. "I don't think I'll kill you today." The purple-haired priest vanished from in front of the annoyed man's face.  
"Fruitcake," he muttered before going about on his business.  
"It can't be Lina," Xellos told himself, preparing for the let down. "Her signature isn't here." Despite this he began a quick survey of the rooms until he found what he was looking for.  
The snoring form was definitely Lina, magic or no magic, Xellos could tell that. The red-head was lying unconscious wrapped in blankets that appeared somewhat shredded.  
"Lina, what happened to you," Xellos wondered as he walked over to attempt and wake her up. Curiously enough he smelled something familiar. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she just healed some major damage." The mazoku priest reached out with his staff and poked Lina in the side to shake her awake.  
"What?" Lina muttered, blinking awake. The tired and confused woman finally caught site of Xellos and narrowed her eyes. "Xellos what are you doing here."  
"I was looking for you," the priest smiled. "I heard...rumors..." Xellos stopped talking as Lina's eyes snapped wide and she looked at the window towards the darkening horizon.  
"Close the window," she demanded, sitting up, grabbing the headboard, and biting down on the wood. Xellos blinked in surprise but closed the shutters anyway.  
As the trickster caught a last glimpse of the setting sun he couldn't help but realize that Lina hadn't been wearing anything when she emerged from the blankets. When he turned around again it was to the sound of restrained thrashing and cracking wood.  
"Lina?" Xellos. gasped as he watched the transformation proceed. The wood between Lina's teeth didn't last long, shattering under the pressure.  
"Ah!" the sound of bones cracking and reshaping came as her legs changed. "Ahhh!! AHHHH!!!" Unlike Amelia, Xellos had no worries about approaching Lina as she was now. After the first couple of moments of surprise he rushed forward and encircled the changing woman in his arms. He clamped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to keep her screams from alerting the rest of the inn.  
Xellos found it difficult to contain her, even with his mazoku strength. As the seconds creeked by undeterminably slow, he found himself almost hanging on for dear life. Lina bit into his hand and the demon had to supress his own expression of pain.  
The transformation ended after a pair of measly minutes and Lina began to relax, temporarily exhausted by the process. When Lina stopped struggling, Xellos released his grip, the exhausted Lina continued leaning back against him.  
"How long have you been like this?" Xellos asked.  
"Three days," Lina whispered. She didn't yet know that she had slept through the previous day, a side effect of the natural stimulants her body had used to heal her earlier. "Why are you here?"  
"I was...worried about you," he usually didn't come out right and say things like that, but his usual "that is a secret" routine didn't seem appropriate at the moment.  
Lina turned around and faced him, her tail was now flicking nervously behind her.  
"You were worried about me," Lina repeated. "That's it?" Zelgadis thought she was a weakling, Amelia acted like she thought Lina was thinking about stalking her, a gang of bandits had beaten her past the brink of a human death. Now Xellos was...worried... about her, and of course he wasn't afraid of her.  
"Why shouldn't I be?" he asked. "You are a friend after all, I never claimed anything else." Lina looked at him and blinked.   
The were-fox desparately wanted some control, wanted something to go her way. Apparently the only rock in her ocean at the moment was the mazoku trickster. He wasn't prepared when Lina pulled his head down and kissed him.  
"What-?" Xellos started to ask as he managed to pull away. Lina was stronger now, but still not as strong as mazoku.  
"Please..." was all Lina said, looking up at the purple-haired mazoku with red reflective eyes.  
Xellos considered refusing, but decided against it. He had always been curious, and it wasn't like Filia cared what he did. Or like he cared what Filia thought about his actions. He smiled and initiated his own kiss as they fell back to the large bed covered in torn blankets.   
  
  
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	6. Connecting (Lemon)

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Connecting  
  
  
  
Lina dropped back towards the bed, and was surprised when Xellos turned them around as they fell so that Lina ended up on top. Lina pulled back from their kiss a moment and looked at him confused. He smiled, reaching up to rub the thin skin of her black furred ears. Lina sighed, almost crooning, as Xellos' face came up to meet hers again.  
"You have a tail," Xellos whispered into her ear, blowing softly as he did so.  
"Oh, right," Lina muttered, as she loosened Xellos's cloak, and began hastily working on his tunic. She nipped at his ear, as the mazoku's hand began moving down her back.  
"Its not so bad is it?" Xellos asked as he stroked the shock of red fur about her tail. The light scrape of claws trailing up his back were accompanied by a soft canine croon that answered his question.   
"Stop talking," Lina breathed roughly. Xellos had to stop a moment to let her pull the tunic over his head, but only for a moment.  
Lina gasped as Xellos started tickling the fine fur coating her breasts, she closed her eyes and relished the exquisite feel of each fiber pulling lightly at the flesh underneath. Like a soft breeze brushing across her skin.  
Lina straightened her back as Xellos worked his lips down from her neck to her hardened nipples. The were-fox reached down Xellos's back and pulled his breeches down past his hips while her partner's hands were split between dancing along her spine and caressing the soft fur between her legs.  
Xellos let Lina carry his head back up to hers and they both locked lips as the mazoku kicked his pants the rest of the way off. Their hands moved to each other's backs as they crushed there bodies against each other. Lips and tongues ranged over ears, necks, and mouths while their lower bodies realigned.  
Lina gave short cut off yelp as Xellos entered her and her claw fingers dug shallow furloughs into his back. Xellos' face laid by Lina's nibbling on the tip of her ear. Lina's tail swished smoothly and rapidly as she and Xellos adapted to each other's rhythm. Periodically a sharp yelp or grunt escaped from between gritted teeth. Lina's claws dug more furrows into Xellos' back as the earlier marks healed.  
A small amount of pain on both sides had triggered natural stimulants to be released for accelerated healing and activity. Already superior senses were hyped as the intensity came to a boiling point. The yelps, sighs and grunts were more constant than periodic now.   
Their eyes spent more time locked than roaming, each delving the other's soul for something to cling to. For a brief moment they were in total harmony; physical, emotional and spiritual. Lina cried out, almost a howl, and her eyes opened wide as she then pulled several quick breaths in. Lina cried out twice more, and then finally arched her back almost double as she and Xellos cried in one combined voice.  
Xellos fell back against the bed as Lina slumped forward, supported by her arms on either side of the mazoku's head. Their eyes remained locked as they caught their breath and let there bodies come down from the intense sensations they had just experienced.  
Lina let herself fall forward and encircled her arms around the mazoku, Xellos cradled the fox-girl in response. They wearily kissed deeply one more time, and then Lina slid off Xellos and snuggled against his side. The were-fox softly fell asleep gripping the mazoku, who closed his eyes and relaxed into a guarded sleep of his own.  
  
Xellos woke up before the sun rose, and saw Lina still sleeping next to him, snoring loudly as usual. He wondered at the connection he had felt with the new therianthrope earlier, that momentary joining of souls. He had felt traces of it before with Lina, the tendency to think along similar lines for instance. Last night had been different, more complete and intense. It reminded him somewhat of the bond he owed to his master, Zelas.  
He couldn't see the sun rising, but he did watch enrapt as the fox-like features retreated from Lina's form. This transformation seemed much smoother and obviously without pain than the other. Xellos thought he knew why. Awake, Lina was afraid as the change approached, she fought it and the change was difficult, painful. She was much better off to go through the change asleep. That conclusion brought a twinge of guilt for waking her up just before sun set.  
The mazoku gently disengaged himself from the still sleeping Lina, and he stroked a stray lock of hair away from her face. A trace of silver was starting to show at the roots of some of the hairs. Lina was going to have a silver streak a little off center of her forehead. He imagined what it would look like and smiled as he collected his clothes. The woman was beautiful, that was all there was too it.  
Shuffling around, he found her gear, and a pile of discarded clothes. The hooded cloak sitting off to the side seemed fine, but the rest were mostly bloody rags and some ill-fitting, for Lina, garments that she had probably snatched as replacements. He was no longer confused as to why Lina had been sleeping naked.  
He shuddered when he saw them, the pain, despair and humiliation oozing from the remnants were the very sort of nutrition he required, but he didn't like the source. Xellos glanced over at Lina again, no wonder she was so tired. She was crashing from the regeneration.   
The mazoku dug a little further and found some coins, looking back at Lina he estimated that she would be asleep for at least another hour. That decided he teleported away.  
  
Lina woke up to the sight of a half-empty bed, she snapped to a seating position.  
"Xellos?!"  
"I'm here," the mazoku responded from her right. She rose from the bed and embraced him.  
"Don't leave," she said. "Everybody else left."  
"I'm not going anywhere, yet," Xellos answered. "But tomorrow I'll have to leave, annoying Zelas won't help either of us."  
"I know, I know," Lina sighed. "I just...."  
"Need somebody?" the trickster smiled.  
"Yeah, how'd you guess?"  
"Sore wa himitsu desu," he waggled his finger at her playfully, and she rolled her eyes. "I have a surprise for you." He pointed towards the bundle next to him. Lina released him and picked up the bundle, intrigued. Unwrapping it she found a pile of clothes, breeches dyed a deep-reddish brown and a loose tunic of dark green leather. Next to the chair on the flor was a pair of black riding boots.  
"These are for me?" She asked.  
"Well I used your money," she rolled her eyes at him again in mock irritation, and then giggled at his innocent smile. "The coloring should be useful when travelling through the wilderness."  
"Thank you, I needed some new clothes," Lina said.  
"One more thing," Xellos lifted his amulet over his head and handed it over to her. She took it reluctantly, a little confused. "You'll always be able to contact me as long as you have that. And I'll always know where you are."  
"Let's not turn this into a farewell," Lina demanded as she started getting dressed in her new clothes. "I have you for one more day, I want to enjoy that."  
"As you wish," Xellos laughed, feeling pleased at the substantial upswing of Lina's emotions.   
  
  
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	7. Fourth Aspect

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Fourth Aspect  
  
  
  
News spread fast, Lina Inverse was dead. The dra matta was no more. Innkeepers and bandits across the continent rejoiced. Lots of people were surprised, a few were saddened, and one person was quite annoyed.  
"How dare she die before I could gloat over her predicament face to face," Martina whined. "Its not fair, she'd do anything to take my revenge from me."  
"Perhaps this is a good thing, miss Martina," the staid little man next to her suggested. "Now there is no chance of her interferring with you ever again. Magic or no magic, she was still a threat."  
"You're right of course, Reginald," Martina agreed. "It still would have been very gratifying to see her squirming without her spells."  
"Indeed mistress," the little man bowed low as Martina began to leave the room.  
"Remind me to have a bounty placed on foxes after I marry the prince."  
"Indeed, Mistress. We should take no chances, but before you make such plans..."  
"In the name of the monster Zomalgustar," Martina shouted. "The world shall be mine! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"  
"...." Reginald glared at her for a moment. "As I was saying, perhaps we should wait to make such plans until after you have caught the prince's attention." Martina, paused in her laughing.  
"You have a point."  
  
"This must be the place," Gourry yawned as he cast his eyes about. They were in front of a moderate sized cabin deep in the woods. It was a fairly comfortable affair, a large chicken coop, well-kept work shed.  
"This doesn't look like the kind of place a master magician would reside," Amelia noted.  
"Really, I've lived in one or two places like this," Zelgadis countered.  
"I didn't mean..."  
"Don't worry, we're here to find a path not a cure. Protoss?" Zelgadis called out. "I'm Zelgadis Greywyrds, I sent word I'd be coming."  
"In the back," called an old voice from behind the cabin. The three remaining slayers looked at each other for a moment beforing following the sound of the voice around back. They found a man who looked about fifty and was dressed in a loose robe. The odd thing was that he had apparently locked himself into a large cage with a very frightened deer.  
"I had planned to be here earlier," Zelgadis said. "But...something happened."  
"I just got back home myself," the man laughed. "Somebody snared me half a month ago and I almost ended up this crazy green-haired girl's dinner."  
"Crazy, green-haired girl?" Zelgadis and Amelia repeated, and then looked at each other.  
"That sounds like that...Mary, Marie, Maria...uh..."  
"Martina," Amelia and Zelgadis snapped.  
"That's right."  
"You know this person," Protoss asked curiously.  
"Did she have a weird laugh," Amelia asked.  
"Well, I was a fox at the moment so I was more concerned with running than listening to her, but I think so."  
"That's what you were hiding," Zelgadis turned on Amelia.  
"What are you talking about?" Amelia stammered. "What does he mean that he was a fox?"  
"I don't believe that its coincidence that a lunatic with a grudge against Lina was having captive lycanthropes brought to her around the same time Lina lost her magic."  
"He's a...a...a werefox?" Amelia stammered. Protoss laughed.  
"Sixty years now," he saw Amelia and Gourry's surprised expressions. "Regeneration does wonders for the aging process."  
"Yes, that's why I came here," Zelgadis told her. "Lina was infected wasn't she."  
"Yes," Amelia nodded sheepishly.  
"You mean somebody used me to infect somebody else with lycanthropy," he was no longer amused. He took in Zelgadis chimera form, "No offense, but I could probably help her more than I could you."  
"She's dead," Zelgadis told him.  
"Maybe not then," the man looked to the horizon. "We'll have to continue this tomorrow. The moon is rising, and I'm really not prepared to keep the fourth aspect down tonight." The deer began to grow very skittish now, backing away from the old man.  
"Agreed," Zelgadis said. "We'll leave you to dinner then." Amelia smiled at the old man nervously before chasing after Gourry and Zelgadis.  
"Zelgadis, he's a monster," Amelia whispered, as they settled in the cabin.  
"Who's a monster?" Gourry asked.  
"That's why you weren't so anxious to find Lina," Zelgadis said. "You don't think I'm a monster, but Lina becomes a were-fox and she's instantly a threat."  
"But werecreatures on the full-moon..."  
"Expect threats," Zelgadis told her. "If you show fear, or hostility toward them they decide you're a threat, but they are no more monsters than a person is."  
"I thought Lina was dead," Gourry said.  
"She is, but if we hadn't been such assholes," Zelgadis yelled. "She wouldn't have decided to go off on her own, and she'd be alive." The sound of Protoss transforming outside ended the arguement and most conversation.  
  
"Xellos?" Lina called quietly. She sat curled into a ball on the grass waiting for the sun to go down. She didn't really want to go through this alone the first time. The normal transformations were bad enough, she didn't want to imagine what tonight was going to feel. "Xellos can you hear me you fruitcake?"  
"Why Lina, I didn't know you were into this kind of thing," she couldn't turn around to see the trickster, but she could smell him. She smiled quietly, the silver in her hair was easy to spot now. The mazoku sat behind the chained woman circling his arm around her shoulders while stroking her long hair in an attempt to comfort her. "Don't fight it."  
"What?" Lina asked surprised.  
"You know it doesn't hurt you when you're asleep," he told her. "Don't fight the change and it will be easier." The sun was starting to sink he didn't have much time before the transformation started.  
"How do I not fight it," she asked, feeling the itching start.  
"Want it," Xellos whispered. "Don't fear it."  
"Want it?" Lina repeated. "Wan...*" Xellos had to strengthen his grip as she began changing. Lina hadn't cried out yet, but he could feel the pain wafting off of her.  
"Calm down!" he felt ridiculuous shouting that, especially as Lina's transformation progressed. Lina held out screaming another couple of seconds, and by then her voice was already more bestial than he had yet heard it.   
This transformation was different from the onset. The fur was thicker, the tail was longer and the changes to her body were much more severe. Her face was already stretching into a thin triangular muzzle, and she was growing, significantly. As it progressed he smelled adrenalin and felt an increase in such emotions as anger and suscpicion rose.  
The mazoku heard the manacles stretch and creak, and looked to her bound ankles and wrists. The mazoku's eyes widened as he saw a thin trail of smoke drifting from the too-small manacles. He reached forward and broke the bonds tossing the silver threaded chains away. This made his attempts to hold Lina very difficult. The transformation ceased as Lina's strength surpassed the mazoku's.  
Lina stopped thrashing as the pain of silver and change passed. She sniffed the air, instinctually looking for the threat. Lina was confused, all she smelled was her mate. There was nothing else but prey and trees. She growled inquisitively.  
"Lina?" The were-fox cocked her head, trying to turn towards the voice. There was no threat, why was she like this? Something about the moon?  
"Grr?" Lina tried to shrug off the mazoku, and found she couldn't just break his grip. She cocked her head around again, and licked his face. Surprised the mazoku let go of her. Then the were-fox was off into the forest.  
"Lina, wait!" Xellos followed. If someone saw Lina, the word would spread and soon there would be one less werefox in the world. As she was Lina would consider anybody she didn't know a potential threat to be destroyed, which meant she wouldn't try to avoid sight. "Damn it."  
He heard a scuffle and the sound of a predator tearing into something, passing through the bushes he was relieved to see Lina feasting on a fallen deer. Of course, she was hungry, he sighed in relief. Sitting down to keep an eye on her.  
She cocked her head at him inquisitively. Why did he feal so tense until a moment ago? She bent down to her meal again, still confused. Maybe he was in trouble, yes that was it. She'd stay around him until she was sure otherwise.   
Xellos sighed in relief as the were-fox padded over to him and sat down. She was protecting him, he thought it was mildly amusing considering that's what he was trying to do. The mazoku looked over to the devoured deer and turned back to Lina.  
"Going on a diet Lina?" she whuffed a question.   
  
  
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	8. Origin of the Species

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Origin of the Species  
  
  
  
"I hope I didn't..."  
"Yipe!" Amelia woke up with startled yell at the old man's voice.  
"...umm...scare you too much last night." Zelgadis yawned and stretched as he sat up from the floor. He rolled his eyes at Amelia. Gourry's snores carried through the small building, unconcerned with the going ons around him.  
"Don't mind her, she's not used to werecreatures."  
"I'll make us some breakfast," the man said, gesturing for them to sit at the small table in the center of the room. "Its been awhile since I had anything cooked, but I think I remember how its done."  
"Breakfast?" Gourry snapped awake and was at the table before anyone else.  
"So that's what it takes," Zelgadis mumbled. "I'll be fine with just some coffee." As he sat down he began piecing together his portable coffee set along with some beans and a cup.  
"Why are we still here?" Amelia asked.  
"At the very least you are going to learn a little bit about lycanthropes," Zelgadis said, he was heating his skin of water with a minor spell.  
"What does this have to do with your cure?" Gourry asked, looking anxiously in the direction of the chicken coop Protoss had headed off for. The old man turned back into the cabin as he asked.  
"Mr. Greywyrds is probably hoping that I ran across something that could help him in my researches," Protoss answered.  
"That is correct."  
"I have to say no, I stick pretty much to looking for stories on werecreatures."  
"Then I'll settle for that," Zelgadis said. He knew some little bit about it himself, having studied curses in general, but he suspected that his knowledge was still fairly limited.  
"I thought you might know a little already," the old man said from the fireplace. "It certainly explains why you were so calm last night."  
"Do you want me to do that?" Zelgadis asked, watching the water slowly filter through the crushed beans and the cloth to come out coffee and drop into his cup. This process took forever. "This is mostly for her benefit anyway." He indicated Amelia.  
"Perhaps that would be better," Protoss agreed. "Like I said, I haven't felt the need to cook for a while." He walked over, smoothly like some one much younger, and sat across from Amelia, who fidgetted nervously and stared at him.  
"First, lycanthropy was not always a disease," he explained. "A very long time ago it was known as variously as the shaping magic, the beast arts, and a few other things I have heard."  
"I've heard of those," Amelia piped up. "But there isn't any record of a connection with lycanthropes."  
"Most humans these days think of us as you do, rampaging monsters that need to be put out of their own misery. I was like that myself before I was infected. Most of our history is still word of mouth and trickles of information."  
"Where's a monster, and how long on those chickens?" Gourry asked.  
"No monster, and be patient," Zelgadis grumbled. "Their coming."  
"Anyway, lycanthropy was taught, like any other form of magic, for generations. Then someone came up with the bright idea to permanently take on some of the more common spells. To assimilate the magic into his body."  
"How long ago was this," Zelgadis asked, glancing irritably at his dripping coffee filter while trying to cook the chickens.  
"Several generations before the Kouma war, the lycanthropes of the time felt the war coming and wanted more power for the conflict."  
"So what happened?" Gourry asked.  
"They botched it up somehow," Protoss said, stating the obvious. "I'm not exactly certain how, it involved calling on the power of the moon somehow. The lycanthrope magic as a whole went wild. Within an unknown every beast mage, from apprentice to master, had assimilated the magic into their bodies, and the process burned out access to the more common magics. The schools of beast magic became species of werecreature."  
"And that is how the changes came to be tied to the moon?" Amelia asked. Protoss nodded.  
"This is how it was told to me," he answered. "How much is true I cannot accurately say, but it sounds right."  
"Someone should write this down," Amelia said.  
"People have," Zelgadis said from where he was putting the final touches on the chickens. "But most of the books have been destroyed. I've seen one or two pages from the time period that support the story though."  
"But to keep such histories from people is..."  
"...unjust? Like keeping us waiting for the food!" Gourry interjected. Zelgadis plopped a chicken irritably in front of the swordsman and another in front of Amelia. He offered one to Protoss, but the old man refused. Zelgadis himself sat down to watch his cup of coffee finally finish.  
"I imagine that the greater scholars found this nothing more than an inconvience, compared to the real increase in power. But I believe the apprentices and initiates were unprepared for the fourth aspect."  
"What do you mean, unprepared," Amelia asked.  
"I said something of that last night," Zelgadis said, sipping at his coffee as contentedly as he could. Gourry had finished with his chicken and was working on the one Zelgadis had made for Protoss. "That form was designed for battle, it is meant to be entered and left for brief periods of time. I do know more about curses in general than most of you here put together." Zelgadis added the last to respond to the stares he was getting.  
"Yes, well you see, all the beast mages had every possible spell and effect from their specific school ingrained in their bodies. So when the full moon came they were overwhelmed by the fourth aspect's instincts and hunger, that transformation requires a lot of energy which needs to be replaced."  
"So they expected a battle and without one they went to look for one, and then something to eat too" Gourry said between bites. "Makes sense to me, doing nothing can get kind of boring."  
"So only young werecreatures get out of control," Amelia asked. "Wait, what about your cage?"  
"That," Protoss laughed. "That cage couldn't stop me even at my age."  
"Then why even use it?" Zelgadis asked.  
"It keeps the food in," he said simply. "Much easier than hunting, though that's fun at times." Amelia shifted uncomfortably now that information got across.  
"Anyway back to the story, please," the princess suggested.  
"Of course," he smiled, recognizing her discomfort. "Well after the discovery that changes were more difficult to start or stop at the lycanthropes choosing, came the next shock. On the full moon, a werecreature that is in fourth aspect leaks a little of the magic. This can take hold in someone injured by the creature, and suddenly you have another werecreature."  
"But Lina was never bitten by anything," Amelia countered. "She just woke up under the bed one day after the new moon."  
"No, in her case my blood was given to her in someway," he answered angrily. "The magic is always in the blood, no matter what the phase of the moon. Someone should find this Martina girl and stop her from doing such a thing again."  
"We'll take care of her," Gourry promised.  
"What is this about a 'real increase in power?' Zelgadis asked.  
"It is my understanding that the old beast mages could be killed just like normal animals and people. They healed fast, but skewering them through the heart still killed them, no matter what the material. Now, though, the magic binds our life together. We can survive anything short of immolation, decapitation and silver." The three slayers sat up and looked to each other.  
"You could survive then, if you were ambushed in human form and cut to ribbons?" Zelgadis asked.  
"As long as the weapons weren't silver, and your head didn't leave your body, yes," Protoss answered. "I've been cut in half before, very unpleasant experience. And all the time you're healing you can't fall unconscious because the stuff healing you keeps you awake. Then you sleep for a couple of days and wake up famished. Not something you want to happen."  
"Do you think," Amelia started.  
"Yes, I do, I think Lina's still alive," Zelgadis answered.   
  
  
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	9. Complications

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Complications  
  
  
  
Lina leaned down to investigate the trampled ground, she didn't have to   
take the scent to know that her prey had been here. Her hair was cut shorter   
now, just above shoulder length. She hoped that and her mode of dress made   
it difficult to identify her. The rumor of her death had been everywhere for   
a while, but everybody knew that rumors sometimes weren't true.  
"I must have really hurt it last night," Lina thought, then she flexed   
her right arm. "Then again I wasn't so hot earlier either."  
It hadn't taken her and Xellos long to decide that the full moon form   
would be happy if it was given a good, tough battle to fight. Lacking that,   
some decent hunting for food seemed to keep the battle instincts down enough   
that she wouldn't fly off the handle the first instant she smelled a human   
being in the area.  
Added to this was the fact that she was still trying to trace Martina.   
The lunatic was somewhat difficult to follow. Apparently she had learned to   
stay underground during her time stalking the slayers. This, on both   
accounts, is where bounty hunting came in, using the name Rannaur. It would   
be somewhat obvious if someone translated, but the theme was common enough so   
anybody that did might not make the connection.  
"Maybe I should have asked Xellos along on this one," that was another   
developement. Lina didn't like the idea that she would only be able to spend   
time with Xellos on half-remembered nights and fatigue-filled days. She had   
appreciated the company on those nights, but it was about the same as not   
seeing him at all.  
"I need to talk to him soon, but," Lina looked up to where the faded moon   
hung in the darkening blue sky. Until the sun finished setting it wouldn't   
matter, but until them it was an uncomfortable reminder. "Now's not a good   
time for that anyway."  
"Last night of the full moon, if I don't kill it this time..." she left   
the rest unsaid. She wasn't about to let a prize like a behir get away from   
her, but it would be a lot more difficult after this. "Damn legged snake."  
Lina looked to the sun low in the horizon and began preparing for the   
change. Stripping down to her skin and setting her clothes and gear in a   
neat pile off to the side, keeping only the amulet Xellos had given her. She   
spent the last minute of daylight memorizing the scent of the place. The   
changes were getting easier, she wasn't certain if they actually hurt less or   
if she was just getting used to the pain. Whichever it was, she welcomed it   
as the change overtook her.  
  
Filia saw Xellos tense and fix a stare off towards the night. Until now,   
she had thought it was just her imagination, but here was definite proof.   
She paused a moment in reading Valgarv a story to regard the oblivious mazoku.  
"Wha' nex? Wha' nex?" Valgarv demanded. Filia shushed him and watched as   
Xellos finally relaxed releasing a held breath. He noticed her watching him   
and actually seemed embarrassed, she arched an eyebrow. "Wha' nex mommy?"  
"Oh, I'm sorry Val," she said, surprised, and looked at the book again.   
She muttered under her breath before looking down again at the lime green   
dragon carving on the cover. "Silly human children's book."  
"Yes, they really give you dragons a bad name don't they," Xellos   
cheerfully asked, Filia knew that he was soaking in the irritation from her.   
She glared at him, and noticed again that his attention was away from her.   
For the last couple of nights he had been extremely distracted. She wasn't   
certain, but thought it had something to do with his amulet that had   
disappeared about a year ago.  
Valgarv finally settled down and it was just Filia and a fidgety Xellos.  
"Is something wrong?" He turned to her with his usual annoying grin.  
"What makes you ask that?"  
"You keep looking off to the north and fidgetting."  
"Just bored I guess," he looked away, north again, and frowned briefly   
before his expression returned to normal.  
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you have a lover," Filia sipped her   
coffee, the caffeine was a necessity for dealing with the hyperactive dragon   
child. He glanced at her and flashed a scowl.  
"Don't be silly," then he stood up and walked to house's wall.  
"So if you're so worried about her," she ignored his not quite denial.   
"Why not go check on her. Its not like you can't be there and back in   
virtually no time." Xellos sighed and shook his head. Filia hoped she was   
right, recently the mazoku had been treating her like a child. She almost   
thought he felt remorse for killing all those golds ages before and intended   
to make her his redemption, but considering he was mazoku it was probably   
just to annoy her. It was working.  
"She doesn't like help."  
"But what if she needs it?" Xellos looked at her a moment.  
"I might not be back for couple of days," he warned her before vanishing.  
"Yes!" Filia declared quietly, but excitedly. "Xellos is out, Valgarv is   
asleep. I can get a little rela.." she started to raise the cup to her lips   
when.  
"Mommy! Mommy!" Filia's human head fell forward onto the table and she   
sobbed in frustration twice before standing up and putting a pleasant   
expression on her face.  
"I'm coming Val, just a moment," she called sweetly.  
  
"A green-haired young woman with a strange laugh?" The mercenary   
repeated nervously, looking at Gourry's sword to his throat. "Why is   
everybody so interested in her?"  
"You've had other inquiries along this line?" Zelgadis asked as the   
bandit lair burned around him and the other two Slayers.  
"A bounty hunter first...that new one....small," he stammered, trying to   
remember more details. "cloak....couldn't see the face, got in and out of my   
lair without anybody but me knowing."  
"When was this?"  
"A..a..bout seven months ago."  
"Was this bounty hunter a woman or man?" Amelia asked.  
"I couldn't tell," Gourry pushed the sword in a little further. "I   
couldn't...the bounty hunter talked in a whisper...kept to the shadows."  
"Who was next?" Gourry asked, Amelia and Zelgadis blinked, then nodded.  
"Right, if the hunter was first, who was next?"  
There was a trickling sound and the slayers looked to the growing wet   
spot on the front of the man's breeches and as one arched a single eyebrow   
each.  
"That's disgusting," Amelia pinched her nose and averted her eyes.  
"Don't ask me about him?"  
"Gourry," the swordsman reared his arm back.  
"All right! All right! The lady said someone might look for her so we   
were supposed to send them to a trap, so I did..."  
"And?"  
"A couple of weeks later this purple-haired psychopath shows up,"   
Zelgadis and Amelia looked at each other. "Takes my second in command apart,   
in small pieces. Demands to know where the lady is and if there are any more   
traps."  
"And where did you send him?"  
"South! She went south, towards Sairuun." Amelia and Zelgadis traded   
another look.  
"Let's go." Zelgadis walked past the frozen man cooly, Amelia made a wide   
path wafting the air in front of her nose. Gourry smiled and pulled back his   
sword, letting the bandit collapse to his knees.  
"Try to be a good boy, now," Gourry waved as he followed the other two   
slayers away.  
"That's the first we've heard of Xellos looking for Martina," Zelgadis   
grumbled.  
"But that sure sounded like that 'Rannaur' person again, sounds like   
they're working together," Amelia yawned as they finally passed up the   
battle's leftover flames. "Pretty persistant for such a small bounty as   
Martina's. Hmm."  
"Most elves don't go in for bounty hunting," Gourry added. Amelia and   
Zelgadis stopped, looked at each other and turned to face Gourry.  
"What makes you say its an elf?" Zelgadis asked.  
"Oh, don't you two speak elven?"  
"No, that was always Lina," Amelia stated. "And you I guess."  
"My family's had elven friends for a while." He started walking again.  
"Well?"  
"What?"  
"What does Rannaur mean?!?"  
"Oh, 'wandering fire,'" Gourry yawned walking on. Zelgadis and Amelia   
smiled at each other.  
"Lina!" they shouted.  
  
Xellos appeared in the woods to the sounds of a battle of beasts, a flash   
of lightning lit the area briefly over a hill. This section of wilderness   
had already seen two nights of battle and three days of mutual stalking. The   
place looked it, paths of fallen trees uprooted by a great beast and here and   
there lightning scores. Xellos didn't hang around long enough to notice much   
of this or even to soak the leftover emotions of anger and fear about the   
place. It didn't take him long to find the battle.  
The beast extended almost thirty serpentine feet, which made it not quite   
an adult. It should have been moving with amazing fluidity and speed for its   
size, crawling or half slithering with its dozen feet. It wasn't though, the   
previous two night's battles had warn it down. The behir did not possess   
Lina's enhanced rate of healing, and the site of it calmed Xellos extremely.  
The dragon-like head was half-torn apart, the eye torn out and preening   
horns ripped off. It limped along on only nine legs and was bleeding   
somewhat severely from the various wounds that had lost the legs. It might   
survive, if it didn't still have Lina to deal with. Not to mention Xellos,   
of course, now that he was here.  
The half-blind reptile cast about the darkness looking for his opponent,   
sniffing the air. It was really a pathetic site, then Lina's full moon form   
appeared, breezing in from the remaining tree line along the thing's   
blindside.   
The sleek red-furred form landed at the base of the creatures neck and   
began climbing up. The behir twisted about to bring its face next to the   
pesky werecreature climbing up its neck. Xellos lashed out with his hand as   
the beast's mouth opened and released a breath of lightning. The blast   
ricochetted off the shield Xellos had erected, bouncing back towards the   
behir's head. This didn't affect it much, immune to the electricity as it   
was, but it did give Lina time to rip into the soft scales under the beasts   
chin.   
That was the death blow, the blood flowed out in what seemed a torrent as   
the beast toppled over on its side. Lina leaped off and crouched a safe   
distance from the creature's death throes. Xellos teleported next to her and   
sat down. The were-fox looked at him curiously.  
Xellos looked at her, smiled and shrugged. Lina sniffed at him a moment   
and then licked his face a couple of times before moving towards finally   
motionless behir. Then the were-fox started eating. Xellos wondered if the   
beast had enough meat on its bones for Lina's normal meal.  
  
"Xellos?" Lina asked. The mazoku yawned and blinked the sleep out of his   
eyes. "What are you doing here?" He looked over at Lina and smiled.  
"And good morning to you," he said. "Did I ever tell you how beautiful   
you look with blood smeared all over you?" Lina rolled her eyes as she   
reached for one of her waterskins  
"So why are you here?" she asked, starting to rinse herself off from last   
night's battle.  
"Filia figured me out," Lina snapped a look at him. "Only partially, she   
doesn't know its you." Lina went back to rinsing off, Xellos leaned his head   
on his arm and watched as she scrubbed the blood away. She did look   
beautiful with the blood, the morning after a kill. It was the same look she   
used to get while casting a dragon slave. He wasn't about to tell her that,   
the loss of magic was still painful to her.  
"That doesn't say why you're here."  
"Sore wa himitsu desu," they both chorused.  
"Well, it's good you're here anyway," she said. "I might have to find   
some place to lay low for a time. There's going to be a....complication."  
"A complication?"  
"I...uh...missed my period." Xellos stared at her blankly. Then   
sheepishly she added. "Twice."  
"And you're still bounty hunting?"   
  
  
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	10. Trails

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Trails  
  
  
  
"So, what's next?" Gourry asked as they walked away from the town hall.  
"The blacksmith," Zelgadis suggested. "Then after that..."  
"The inn probably," Amelia yawned. "We won't find either of them if we drop from exhaustion." Martina's trail had completely vanished and the last thing they heard about "Rannaur" was her fighting a monster around this town. Zelgadis took a moment to remember what the magistrate had said.  
  
"I don't know how she did it," the man had said. "But for three nights there was a war in the wilds, then she comes walking back into town with what was left of the creature."  
"When was that?"  
"The full moon before last," he answered. "That woman must be a powerful warrior. It was well worth the reward we gave her. Why are you looking for her?"  
"We think she might be an old friend of ours," Gourry had said as they left.  
  
"This is more like an armorer's shop than a blacksmith," Amelia noted as they stopped into the small building in front of the forge. Amelia turned to look towards the wall and caught Zelgadis's attention.  
"This is going to be a nice suit of armor," Gourry appraised, whistling. The interlocking blue scales that made up the tunic hung like cloth over the dummy. It looked relatively lightweight for most armor, but the warrior thought it would prove just as effective, if not more so, as other types of scale mail.  
"There's a touch of magic to it," Amelia noted, squinting at it. Zelgadis nodded.  
"Behir scales, hard to get," Zelgadis noted. "Perhaps that's what's left of the monster that was terrorizing the town."  
"The armor is spoken for," the slayers turned to face the blacksmith, a large bearded man like almost any other village blacksmith. "I have plenty of material left to make more. That is, if you have the money for it."  
"I have more effective means of protection," Zelgadis noted cooly. The blacksmith who couldn't see under Zelgadis' hood and cloak hpmhed doubtfully at that statement.  
"Who's armor is it?" Amelia asked, burshing over the hard scales and humming to herself.  
"A bounty hunter," the shopkeeper said. "It was an even trade, she brought the scales, I made the armor, leaving me with more than enough for several more suits."  
"Sounds like a good deal for you," Zelgadis said. "When are you going to be finished with the armor?" He examined what was already done, the man was taking his time and doing it right.  
"I'm doing it right, two months at least, why do you want to know?"  
"Well you see..."  
"Curiousity," Amelia cut off Gourry. "Its not often you see armor like this."  
"I see, well what did you need here?" Zelgadis unsheathed his sword and handed it hilt-first to the blacksmith.  
"I need a sharpening stone," Zelgadis told him. "And while I'm here I might as well have a professional sharpen the blade." The blacksmith nodded, and accepted the weapon reverently noting the fine construction of the blade.  
"I'll have it done in about an hour," he said.  
"We'll be back then," Amelia said, turning to leave and dragging Gourry along with her.  
"I think we may have found her," Zelgadis said. "Now the question is, do we hang around here until she comes to pick up that armor, or do we go and look for where Martina might be."  
"Yeah, Sairuun's borders are only a couple of days ride from here," Gourry said.  
"We don't have to stay," Amelia said confidently.  
"If you're going back to the idea that we shouldn't..."  
"No, no, I put a trace spell on the armor," Amelia told him. "Should last for another year or so."  
"Why didn't I think of that?"  
  
Lina yawned and stretched. Her mouth snapped closed with a click and she stared up at the night sky. The hunting around here was good, more than enough for her needs. The cave, she had complained before about this being the only forest without an abandoned cabin, was well supplied and perfectly comfortable, almost not like a cave. She was more than two days ride from the nearest settlement, so she was safe from eyes that would likely respond to her with silver arrows.  
The last created a very distinct problem that was eating on her at the moment. There was virtually nothing to keep her mind occupied out here. She could run over the information she had collected on Martina's movements only so many different ways. Hunting normal animals only gave her so much challenge, even when she got it into her head to go looking for specific animals rather than just whatever she could find. At least most of the morning sickness seemed to be done with.  
Xellos was around more often, now that Filia knew why he was disappearing. In fact he was around several times a week, probably pushing the bounds of what was safe to be away from his post watching Valgarv. Still, there was quite a bit of time when there was nobody but her and nothing to do.  
"Speaking of cravings," the owl she had been watching prepared to swoop down on a mouse. The mouse was perfectly aware of the situation, Lina could smell the pheromones wafting off of it, but it was already frozen. The owl dropped from its branch, flashed down and through the tall grass and then was stopped by Lina's hand. The owl protested for all of three seconds before Lina started eating.  
Lina was really beginning to like this body. She didn't merely accept it now, she actually preferred it. She rarely even noticed the pain of transformation anymore, and when dawn came there was a moment of regret as she took her completely human form again.  
Lina yawned as she picked the remains of the owl out of her teeth and tossing them to the side with the rest of the night's refuse. She rubbed her rounded belly before standing up and walking back to the cave and the thick blankets and feather mattress inside.  
  
The border guards of Sairuun immediately recognized their princess.  
"Princess Amelia!"  
"Yes," Amelia said cautiously. "What is it?"  
"Your father has sent seekers for you, there is great news."  
"Really, what news is that?" Amelia asked calmly.  
"The Prince is getting married!"  
"What?!?"   
  
  
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	11. Shadow Plays

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Shadow Plays  
  
  
  
"This is bad," Lina muttered from her vantage point on the cliff. Below her men were setting up a base camp. For the first time in months she actively missed her magic. Pregnant or not she could have handled this as a sorceress. Lina grimaced as she began to slink back to her cave.   
"I feel like a damn pig in a dress," the word dress was the most emphasized, Xellos had brought for her as her travelling clothes began to be ill-fitting. At least the dress was loose enough that she didn't worry about ripping it come nightfall. It more than a little worse for the wear now, though. Blood from past meals, tears from thorns from catching branches, it was in pretty bad shape.  
Their were further problems that she saw with this group. Most people thought that every bandit looked alike, if you saw one thug, you'd seen them all. That was pretty much true, but it was still easy for someone like Lina to tell the difference between the various groups. This was a branch of the people that had been at that trap Martina had set for her.  
She hated feeling helpless like this, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice. She didn't even have the full moon to fall back on, both the more severe transformations had ceased as she started to show. Lina sat back in the soft chair, a recent addition of Xellos's, as soon as she returned to her cave. Here was Martina again, ruining her life. Never mind, of course, that she had been looking for the sick twisted little green-haired trollop.  
"I'm not far enough away from them," she grumbled. "And I have more important things to worry about." Looking about the cave that was becoming something more like a home she sighed. Lina gripped the amulet and reached out toward Xellos. It didn't take him long to show up.  
"What's wrong?" the mazoku asked anxiously as soon as he appeared in the cave. Lina was almost as depressed as she had been when Xellos had first found her in that inn. He'd been about to decide to pop over anyway, so the call made him jump. "Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine," Xellos breathed a sigh of relief. "There are some bandits forming a camp a few miles away."  
"There's more to it than that," Xellos guessed.  
"They're the same group from Martina's trap," Lina told him. "If I could still cast magic...." She sniffed once and then wiped her eyes. "Do you  
think Filia would freak out much if I stayed with you two?"  
"Do you think that's safe?" Xellos asked, feeling moderately guilty that he was feeding off her emotions. Not that he could stop himself, soaking it in like a flower with sunlight.  
"Its safer than here," Lina sighed, brushing red hair, grown long again, out of her face. "There's not enough hunting that I could avoid them noticing me." She blinked and then looked up. "And maybe she won't recognize me."  
"What, do you plan on only being there at night?" Lina had already closed her eyes and seemed to be concentrating. Xellos blinked as he watched Lina transform to her humanoid form despite the sun being high outside. She examined the change, laughed and then hugged Xellos. "How?"  
"I've been studying the change," Lina told him, tail swishing happily. "I thought that I almost had it last time, guess I was right. Shall we go?" Xellos wondered at the sudden good mood, but shrugged. Lina was right, she couldn't stay here.  
  
"The prince's daughter and her friends are here," Reginald informed his mistress.  
"What?!" Martina, her green-hair dyed black. "What are they doing here? It's too early!"  
"Do not worry," her servant spoke monotonously. "Lady R'lyeh will be called away on temple business, you can lay low with the forces we have in the forest."  
"Hmm, very good," Martina thought about it. "But how are you going to get them to leave, they've heard about the marriage by now."  
"I shall take care of that, mistress, now the important thing is to stall for time." Reginald reached to his side and opened a fold in space leading to the spoken of camp.  
"Yes, well, carry on," Martina yawned as she walked through the portal. As the portal shut behind her the staid, unimportant looking man smiled.  
  
"Lady R'lyeh?" Zelgadis repeated. That name brought uncomfortable thoughts, but he couldn't put his finger on the details. The discomfort was all he needed to decide that there was certainly nothing good here.  
"Yes, her temple has been doing great things for the poor of the kingdom," Phil told them all. "And she is really a wonderful person, great sense of humor."  
"But isn't marriage just a little rash?" Amelia asked.  
"Come, come, as soon as you meet her, you'll change your mind," Phil repeated as they walked down the hall. Ahead of them the chambers of Lady R'lyeh closed behind a particularly indistinctive man. "Aww, Master  
Reginald, I've come to introduce my daughter to my love."  
"I am afraid that Lady R'lyeh has been called away on temple business," the man said in a monotone. "She had wanted to give her farewells, but the circumstances really were quite unexpected."  
"I'll bet they were," Zelgadis muttered.  
"What temple does she serve?" Gourry asked.  
"The Temple of She with a Thousand Young," the man responded in his one voice.  
"I've never heard of them before," Amelia noted, suscipiciously.  
"It is a relatively young group, you may not have heard of it."  
"They do excellent work with the poor," Phil told them again. "They really make sure that justice is given to those for whom it has long been denied. The lady is such a sweet and charming woman." Reginald dared a questioning glance at Phil. "But how will she now meet my daughter and her friends?"  
"She was away before news of their arrival reached my ears," Reginald sighed apologetically. "But I will have word sent, perhaps she will finish her business with a little more speed in order to meet her future family."  
"That would be wonderful," Phil shouted. "And until then we must celebrate the happy occaision! Bwuahahahahahhahahahahhahhahahhahahah!!!!!"  
"Hey, Zelgadis are you coming?" Gourry called back as they followed the laughing prince, who happened to be king, back down the hall. The chimera looked up at the swordsman away from his appraisal of "Reginald."   
  
  
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	12. Filia meets Rannaur

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Filia meets "Rannaur"  
  
  
  
Filia had at first ignored the clattering sound of hooves and rolling   
wheels, it was a common enough sound out here on the edges of the city. Of   
course when it stopped in front of her current residence, then she took   
notice. She had set Val to playing and then approached the front door with a   
caution that was almost paranoid. Of course Xellos choose that moment to   
throw open the door and come waltzing inside. Whatever the mazoku had been   
going to say was cut off as Filia shrieked in surprise and brought her mace   
down on the now equally surprised Xellos. The smile died on his face and he   
actually opened his eyes to watch the mace connect.  
"Owww," Xellos groaned as he got to his feet wobbly.  
"Oh I'm sorry!" she dropped the mace in embarrassed surprise, it fell on   
Xellos's foot.   
"Aahh!" Xellos grabbed his foot and, unbalanced, fell backward and   
smashed his head on the door frame.  
"Xellos!" Filia heard a rough, but definitely feminine voice call out   
from the buggy.  
"I thought somebody found out I was dragon or something." Xellos   
struggled to his feet again.  
"All of you calm down," Xellos pointed randomly and speaking drunkenly.   
"Your tails are showing." Then he fell over on his back again. Filia bent   
down immediately to check him for any serious injuries.  
Filia dropped a groggy Xellos's head as she looked up to see a face   
covered in red fur and large black furred ears.   
"What are you doing to him?" the fox girl demanded, eyes narrowed. She   
started to climb out of the buggy. Filia noticed immediately that whoever   
she was, though she looked somewhat familiar. she was certainly pregnant.   
Filia immediately rushed to help her down, accidently kicking Xellos's head   
as she did and nearly tripping.  
The fox-girl, the tail proved it, whuffed in surprise as Filia easily   
lifted her away from the buggy and sat her down on the ground. As the dragon   
turned about to set her down gently her tail thwacked into the again   
recovering Xellos.  
"You should be resting," Filia said politely and cheerfully. "You're the   
girl Xellos has been trying to hide, aren't you?"  
"Look at what you did!" the fox girl pointed to where Xellos was trying   
to sit up and shake his head clear.  
"I'll be fine," Xellos assured her, weaving a little even sitting. Filia   
blushed and giggled nervously as she looked back to the shocked and a little   
angry fox-girl. "She's just a little excited. Rannaur should get inside   
before..."  
"Before someone sees her," she looked to her tail. "Or me, of course.   
Come on, dear we'll find somewhere where you can be comfortable." Filia's   
tail smashed Xellos to the ground again.  
"You did it again!"  
"I'm sorry," Filia said embarrassed. Then she virtually carried Rannaur   
into the house, much to the fox girl's surprise. She was apparently too   
surprised again to react at all and merely let herself be carried into the   
house and be set down in one of the oversoft chairs that Xellos seemed to   
collect. "Now I'll go get Xellos and be right back."  
"No!" Filia stopped and turned back to look at Rannaur. "I mean that's   
fine, I think he'll do better on his own. Just sit down and relax, get   
control of your form. Deep breaths. One. Two. Three." Rannaur reached   
for anything else that she could remember people telling her while she was   
angry or otherwise upset.  
"Don't be silly," Filia snapped angrily, but her tail disappeared and she   
dimurrely sat back in a chair. "Now, I'm sorry to be so rude, but you and   
Xellos scared me there."  
"You call beating your roommate into the ground rude?" Xellos asked as he   
shuffled into the house. "I'd hate to see you being offensive."  
"I said I was sorry," Filia offered.  
"Oh come over here," Rannaur waved him over and he bent down to let her   
examine his head. "Oh what did the mean dragon-lady do to you?"  
"I am not mean," Filia insisted futilely.  
"Oh I'm allright, kind of fun actually," Xellos answered giggling with   
the fox-girl. "You know what masochist I am."  
"Mommy, who's she?" Filia turned to look down at Val.  
"So that's why like the claws while we..."  
"Ahem!" Rannaur and Xellos turned to look at the dragon maid with her   
eyebrow arched and indicating the toddler next to her.  
"Oh, sorry," it was the fox girl's turn to be sheepish.  
"What?" Xellos had no clue as to what the problem was, both women rolled   
their eyes at the amoral tendencies of mazoku.  
"Who's she?" Val asked again.  
"That's Uncle Xellos's..." She looked to the fox-girl expectantly.  
"Xellos's mate," the word flowed easily from her lips. "Rannaur." Val   
looked up at her and blinked.  
"Fire," Rannaur's ears flicked in surprise at the boy's single word.   
Xellos tensed.  
"He can't remember me from before, can he," she thought to herself,   
exchanging a quick glance with Xellos.  
"Oh, I've been teaching him some elvish," Filia explained. Rannaur did   
her best to release her breath without showing her relief. "Wandering Fire?   
That reminds me of a friend of Xellos' and mine's."  
"Really, who was that?"  
"Lina Inverse," Filia sighed sadly.  
"The Bandit Killer? You knew her?" Xellos looked at the fox-girl with a   
"what are you doing" expression.  
"She was a brave woman, and a very powerful sorceress," Filia continued.   
Rannaur seemed shocked that the dragon was actually crying about the Dra   
Matta. "Some bandits killed her while she didn't have her power. Didn't   
Xellos tell you about this, he found the body after all." Filia got back   
control of herself.  
"I just thought that was another of his stories," Rannaur rolled her eyes   
back at the mazoku, who shrugged back an "I give up."  
"Now are you here just to meet me, or are you here to stay? And why did   
you come by buggy rather than just teleporting." Filia didn't bother to ask   
what Rannaur was, she kept getting surprised by new races all the time   
anyway. Things she didn't really notice before living with these "lower"   
races.  
"I didn't just want to pop in with her and startle you," Xellos said,   
then rubbed his head. "That's painful sometimes." He did not miss the irony.  
"I was hoping you wouldn't mind me staying for awhile," Rannaur asked   
quietly, trying to be as demure as possible and overdoing it.  
"She's getting to where she can't hunt for herself," the fox-girl hmped   
at him indignantly.  
"I'm not that far along yet," she insisted.  
"Ronar?" Val tugged at the corners of the woman's sleeve. She looked   
down at him. "Why are you fat."  
"Val! Seriously, how rude," Filia stood up and picked the young dragon   
up off the floor and sat down again with him in her lap. "Now apologize to   
the nice girl," then she looked between Xellos and Rannaur. "How old are you   
anyway?"  
"Not as young as I look," the girl assured her. "I heal fast and it   
keeps me from aging."  
"Oh...good," she looked down at the confused dragon kid again. "Val   
apologize."  
"I'm sorry, I said you were fat, miss Ronar," he said very formerly.  
"It's all right," she said. Xellos was now sitting in a chair he had   
moved next to her. "I am fat, and I'll probably be fat for the next few   
months." Rannaur reached out and grabbed his head and pulled him over so she   
could nuzzle his face. "And its all because of my mazoku here, isn't he   
cute?" Filia's eyebrow arched, again.  
"Well is she wrong, or am I cute?"  
"I wouldn't go that far," Filia answered dead pan.  
"How did uncle Xellos make her fat?" Filia turned beat red.  
"Well you see...hey!" Rannaur playfully smacked the top of his head and   
wagged a finger in front of his face. "What?" He looked for answer from   
Filia, who, for some reason unfathomable to Xellos, was holding her hands   
over Val's ears.  
"Well, I guess you can stay here," Filia said. "But you'll have to stay   
under cover, or we could have some unwanted visitors."  
"You can be sure of that," Xellos and Rannaur mumbled at about the same   
time.  
  
Zelgadis had found what he was looking for rather quickly. He had come   
down to Sairuun palace's library and was immediately aware of a large raven   
sitting on the vacant desk. There was something odd about it, and he walked   
forward to get a closer look. Usually he could move swiftly and quietly   
enough to sneak up even on animals, but this Raven bolted almost as soon as   
he started moving.  
It stopped within his sight, and he moved toward it again. It called and   
took flight again. Fairly certain that it was leading him somewhere he   
followed it. Until it stopped at a certain row of books and let him approach   
closer than before. The raven pecked at a book and then flashed into the air   
when Zel tried to grab it again. The bird slipped through his feathers   
calling as it flew into the shadows of the high ceiling, sounding as if it   
were laughing. He looked at the book it had pecked and read the title.  
"I knew I recognized that name," he grumbled sourly and gingerly, very   
gingerly, picked up the indicated book. Lina would know more about the   
history of the tome, Zel had half-way delved through a less complete version   
once before. He stopped when it became obvious that book was nothing but   
exorcisms, summonings and discussions of various demons.  
"Necronomican. I hope they're just poseurs." He opened the book to the   
strip of paper stuck in the black bound tome. He found words on the paper,   
and wasn't too surprised.  
"Stall them now, their end comes with the next generation."  
Zelgadis thought about the bird and the way it had slipped out of his   
hands, he looked and saw thin black strands caught on his rock skin. "It had   
black fur."   
  
  
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	13. Rescue

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Rescue  
  
  
  
"This is my father's palace," Amelia reminded the man before her. "I have the right to enter any room or chamber here." She tapped her feet angrily.  
"I'm sorry Princess, but your father commanded that no one should invade Lady R'Lyeh's privacy," the guard answered, he and his partner stood firm yet nervous against their princess.  
"I see, well I'm going find out who this person is eventually," Amelia promised. "Then we'll see if she really serves the cause of Justice." Amelia stomped off in the direction of the Library, Zelgadis would be there. Zelgadis and Lina always gravitated toward books. She had know idea where Gourry was, she hadn't seen him since the day before. It didn't worry her the swordsman was probably wandering around the palace at random.  
"I think me and Zelgadis should investigate this 'temple,'" Amelia thought to herself.  
  
Gourry knew he couldn't really help Zelgadis and Amelia in their investigations. He had taken the opportunity to get a little hunting in. It had been a short ride out of the city's bounds and now he was stalking the woods with a bow in hand.  
His friends would have been surprised by just how good he was at sneaking through the underbrush, even more surprised that he could get his horse to travel so silently. He had managed a fairly lucky start, happening upon a fairly frequently populated section of the forest fringe. Of course as he got deeper into the woods the tracks became denser, about what one would expect for a healthy woodland. The signs were everywhere, you just couldn't see the animals.  
Gourry didn't think anything of camping when the sun set, it wasn't like Zelgadis or Amelia would miss him. They were going to be far to busy digging into the story of this Lady R'Lyeh. It was half an hour after dark, cooking the quail he had managed to catch over a small fire, that he first noticed that he was being watched.  
He looked about and saw a circle of yellowish eyes about his campfire. His horse was shifting from foot to foot nervously.  
"Wolves," he said. "Sorry not enough food for all of you." Looking around again, unconcerned, he could handle a pack of wolves if it came to that, he found the eyes gone again. Except for one pair that moved into the light.  
"Hmm, your eyes aren't even yellow, are they," Gourry asked as he started digging through his pack for rations. In fact the eyes were a sort of copperish color, though it might have been the reflection of the fire. Gourry tossed the remains of his quail to the wolf.   
"Might as well be a good host." He shrugged, the wolf sniffed the quail and then swallowed it down."Wow, you eat like Lina and me," the wolf shook its head back and forth as it prepared to sit down. For a moment the sleek black down covering the wolf puffed up making him look twice as big, then they settled down again.  
"Boy you look like you're moulting," Gourry said as he noticed some of the feathers floating slowly to the ground. "Wait a minute since when do wolves have feathers?" Then the wolf was gone, pouncing into the night time woods.  
Gourry took up his sword, not as good as the light blade, but still effective in his hands, and bounded up to his horse's back. He was fairly certain that the wolf would have out run him if he went on foot, and there was something funny about this. The animal stayed in his sight periodically glancing back to check if the human was still following him. Zelgadis would have recognized the expression on the wolf's face, but Gourry had left before the Zelgadis's raven made its appearance.  
Gourry's chase lasted a good deal longer than Zelgadis's, a continual game of tag with the swordsman unable to keep up. He finally lost the wolf as the Eastern sky began to glow. The wolf didn't just vanish, something else had attracted Gourry's attention and he let it go.  
"Bandits," he muttered sagely. Beneath him in a bowl with a clearing towards the bottom was a rather large camp of armed men. He tied up his horse and began creeping down towards the camp. He found it pretty easy to sneak up on them, what they considered alert sentries were almost laughable. He found the largest tent and sat down outside it listening to the conversation with in.  
"...what is she doing here? We have enough trouble with that snooping priestess."  
"You can tolerate her for a few days," a second voice said. "The master doesn't want her cover blown just yet."  
"Why must we go through with this charade? She's always blabbing about how she's a princess anyway."  
"We need a queen, now just humor her and keep her away from the prisoner. What's her name?"  
"Syphiel. I'll be glad when they're both dead."  
"Be patient, their time will come when the stars are right, until then no one hurts them and keep your eyes open. We still haven't found who was living in that cave."  
"They're going to kill Syphiel and someone else!" Gourry blinked, and moved away from the tent, falling back into the fading shadows. "Now where would they keep prisoners." He scanned the area quickly, and moved to another shadow to change his view. Eventually he found a tent that was actually effectively protected.  
Gourry smiled and snuck around to the back of the tent in question. He was using a mix of caution and urgency, the sun was quickly rising. There would be virtually no shadows soon. Fortunately Gourry was part elf, and had spent much of his life growing up with elves and woodsmen. He came around the right and tossed a stone straight up.  
The stone landed a few feet in front of him and the guards glanced in that direction, rolled their eyes and started in the other direction. Gourry rushed out behind them slashed once and twice and then dragged the two bodies into the tent with him.  
"Gourry?" he turned to see Shyfiel looking at him with a shocked expression on her face. "How did you find this place?" He stopped and thought about it for a moment.  
"I don't remember, oh well, not important," he said. "Come on we have to get one more person and then get out before anybody notices us."  
"One more person? Who?" Gourry took a heavy cloak from one of the bodies and obscurred his face and form, he gave the other to Syphiel.  
"I don't know, some princess or something," he glanced outside. "Its clear, act natural." They walked outside, Syphiel trying not to look like she was scared.  
"I demand you bring me better fare!" the shout carried across the camp in a shrill wind.  
"I'm guessing that's her," Syphiel said.  
"That voice sounds familiar," Gourry pondered. "Oh well. Umm, don't attract attention, but go get a pair of horses."  
"You're leaving me alone?" she tried to shout and whisper at the same time.  
"Well do you want to be around when I try to get her out of there?" Syphiel considered the question.  
"I'll go get two horses, don't be long." Gourry watched her until she disappeared between two tents. The sun was definitely up now, but there still wasn't much life in the camp. Gourry shook his head annoyed, these people didn't know anything about life in the woods. He approached the other tent and waited for the bandit to exit it, then he went in.  
"Well that was quite a bit too-*" Gourry didn't take the time to let her turn around, or see what she looked like. He simple knocked her out and picked her up. Usually he was more than a little chivalrous, but well, trying to explain matters would get them all killed right now.   
Now getting out was going to be a little more difficult, people were certainly going to notice him carrying an unconcious woman over his shoulder. He exited the back of the tent and worked his way to the edge of the camp and around to their horses. He found Syphiel quickly and came up behind her.  
"Just two horses, I have one up there," Syphiel almost screamed when he started speaking. "Come on let's go."   
Gourry swung up into the saddle of the black mare Syphiel had chosen, a little ungracefully because he had to count for the weight of the unconscious girl. Syphiel took a moment to get control over her heart rate again and took the saddle of her dappled gelding.  
They had reached his horse and were in the process of securing the princess in her saddle when the alarm was raised below.  
"Well they found out that you both are gone, let's not be here." He remembered for a moment chasing a wolf over a smattering of granite rocks rising out of the Earth. He then promptly forgot the wolf again, it wasn't important, but the rocks were. "They'll track us here, _anybody _could do _that_, but I think I know where we can lose them." Gourry kicked off his horse, leading the unconscious girls, and Syphiel followed. As he predicted the bandits followed and lost their trail in the rocks.  
"The master is not going to be pleased," the second grumbled glaring at his superior.  
  
"Zelgadis?" Amelia called out. "Are you here?"  
"In the back Amelia," she heard him call, the sound echoing through the great hall of the Library. Amelia walked back and found Zelgadis pouring over an old book.  
"I never liked this one," Zelgadis grumbled. "I know what R'Lyeh is."  
"Sure, she's a gold-digging opportunist." Zelgadis turned to face her.  
"Not Lady R'Lyeh, R'Lyeh. Its a city, sort of, the resting place of one of the old ones."  
"Old ones? I thought they were just frightening bed time stories," Amelia moved around to examine the tome with Zelgadis. She didn't notice how close she was when she leaned over to look at the pages, otherwise she might have fainted. Nor did she notice Zelgadis blushing as she brushed his shoulder.  
"They're down here somewheer," someone said. They both recognized Reginald's voice. "Find them, get rid of them quietly, I'll tell his highness they left to find their blonde friend." Amelia and Zelgadis quietly faded into the shadows and Amelia started leading them around to a hidden exit she new of.  
"Master, could the swordsman be responsible for Lady R'Lyeh's abduction from the north woods." They heard a body hit the ground.  
"Keep your mouth closed," Reginald's deadpan voice warned. Zelgadis and Amelia were out of the room before they even glimpsed the open copy of the Necronomican. "They _were_ here, they've been researching us."  
  
"Why are we running," Amelia demanded suddenly. "This is _my _home!"  
"Yes, but we don't want to fight them just yet, we don't know how many they are or how powerful, we could kill these and whoever is left could still be a threat. We should find Gourry first, and then continue to look for Lina."  
"Why?"  
"They need 'Lady R'Lyeh', apparently Gourry might have her, and well, Lina will know more about this than I do."  
"So its to the north woods from here?"  
"By way of the stables yes."  
  
Zelgadis and Amelia had no trouble with the regular servants of the palace or the guardsmen in the city. And soon they were making a bee line for the north woods as planned. Half a day into the ride they heard a familar, screeching voice.  
"Damn you, let me go!"  
"You don't want to go back there."  
"Those are _my_ followers you fool, followers of the monster Zomalgustar!"  
"Where do I know that name from." Zelgadis and Amelia topped a rise and saw Gourry approaching down the road with Syphiel and Martina, her hair dyed black. "Oh, hi guys. Look what I found."  
"Martina," Zelgadis nodded at the insane princess, glaring at her dangerously. "Lina's going to love to see you again."  
"Why am I not surprised?" Amelia asked flatly.   
  
  
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	14. Meeting of Mazoku

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Meeting of Mazoku  
  
  
  
"Lina Inverse is alive?" Sylphiel   
"Don't be ridiculuous, the bitch" Martina sneered at the last word, after all, she knew just how it could fit Lina now. "has been dead for more than a year."  
"What, when did Lina die?" Gourry asked. "I thought we were looking for her."  
"We are looking for her," Amelia answered him, rolling her eyes. "She's not dead."  
"But no one has heard from her in all that time," Sylphiel noted. "There were the rumors about how she lost her power, and then her death in a bandit ambush or something. Are you saying they aren't true? She's been hiding all this time?"  
"They're half-right," Zelgadis said. He dismounted and walked over to Martina's horse.  
"What do you want?" the girl asked him snidely. Her green roots were just now starting to show.  
"Lina lost her magic," he reached up and grabbed a hold of the dress Martina was wearing, a rather conservative one compared to other things she had worn. "And this one knows how!" He pulled her off the horse and threw her to the side of the road.  
"She deserved it," Martina snarled, standing up and watching chimera warily. "She took my kingdom from me, made me a destitute wanderer. I merely repaid the favor."  
"What did you do?" Sylphiel asked quietly.  
"The bitch really is a bitch now. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Zelgadis reared back his hand and was surprised to find it restrained, he looked to see Gourry holding his arm. The swordsman could never hope to actually hold the chimera, but the gesture stopped him well enough.  
"You shouldn't hit women." Gourry lectured.  
"You didn't show much..." Martina's comment was interrupted by Amelia's punch. The purple-black haired princess flexed her hand and shook it. Martina was unconscious again.  
"That hurts," Amelia whispered. "I don't see how you people can keep doing that."  
"What does she mean by that?" Sylphiel asked.  
"Lina's a werefox," Gourry said as he let go of Zelgadis's hand.  
"She's a what?"  
"A werefox," Amelia confirmed. "I've seen her...change. But none of us have seen her since shortly after it happened."  
"B..but why would you want to find her," Sylphiel asked.  
"We had to go through this with Amelia already," Zelgadis grumbled. "She's still Lina. We've left her behind one too many times already." Amelia blushed and looked away, though neither of the men said anything blaming her.  
"Lina's been hunting bounties, and we haven't heard anything about rampaging werecreatures along her path," Amelia said. "But aside from waiting another month or so for her to collect her armor, I don't see how we're going to find her."  
"Find Xellos and we'll find Lina," Zelgadis said.  
"Then why not pay Filia a visit?" Gourry asked. "Who's always fairly close to her and umm....uh...that dragon guy who's a baby now?"  
"Val Garv."  
"That's him."  
"Lets get off the road. Now." Zelgadis said.  
"Who's this Filia person again?" Sylphiel asked. "Do I know her?"  
"I think you left before we met her. She's a gold dragon."  
"Oh."  
  
"Well, something is going on here," Xellos mused as he watched the excited state of affairs down in the camp. The mazoku stayed close to them, teleporting from concealing shadow to concealing shadow. He had always loved the forest, the deep forest where the shadows were almost as thick as the night. He assumed that might be the infulence of his master, but at the very least the forest was a good deal cleaner and more dignified than a dungeon.  
He had already been to Lina's cave, it was in shambles, the few items of monetary value looted. That had been more than a little upsetting, on the other hand he was glad that Lina had called when she did. A couple days' delay would have been devestating.   
Xellos's head lifted at the sound of an approaching horse, he watched the rider stop in front of the two commanders. The man's dismount was more like a tumble. The fear wafting off of him was delicious, in fact Xellos doubted that he could form much in the way of coherent thought.  
"What is it? Stand up and give your report," the man stumbled to his feet.  
"Red....blood....blood....torn to pieces."  
"They found him," Xellos smiled, remembering the one bandit that had still been in the cave when he showed up. There was now a small clearing near Lina's cave that was seemingly painted red and strung with guts and body pieces of that unfortunate man.   
"See what he's babbling about," the obvious leader told his second. "If it's Lady R'Lyeh we'll wish it had been us."  
"Lady R'Lyeh?" Xellos mumbled, the frowned. He was pondering this when the portal opened and a quite ordinary man stepped out. Xellos's eyes widened and then narrowed.   
A little more than a thousand years ago a small group of medium level ryuzoku, mazoku, and a single human that had stumbled upon the gathering by accident, had taken it upon themselves to take a break from the building conflict and put down a rogue mazoku. It hadn't been a clear victory, the mazoku in question had managed to seal himself away before they could finish him off. Only one of the group survived, and by the time it was over, Xellos wasn't human anymore.  
"What was it he was babbling," Xellos asked himself. "The first of five? What was shall be."  
"Do you have any useful news," the man, mazoku, asked flatly.  
"We found the thief's trail and lost it again when they hit the road," he seemed about to say more when there was a flash of black light and the man's body fell to the ground seperate of its head.  
"You are now in command," the mazoku informed the second. "But do see what this poor fellow here was jabbering about."  
"Yes," the mazoku fixed him with a glare. "Master." The bandit left half running, leaving the broken minded bandit behind to stare up at their master. The other mazoku paused and started casting his eyes about the camp. Xellos sweated and tried to pull his aura into himself. He did not want to be seen by this one quite yet.  
"Don't get in my way, Xellos," he whispered, the sound still carrying to Xellos's ears. "You can't win without all five, and Inverse is dead."  
"That was your doing then?" Xellos stepped out into light the bandit must have been sensitive, seeing Xellos immediately called to mind the carnage he had just seen. He began jabbering incessantly until he erupted into flames with a gesture from Xellos. Nobody came running at his cries, they knew their master was there after all.  
"Such anger, she was a good friend then, maybe more?"  
"That is of no concern to you."  
"True, it doesn't matter any more does it. I'm giving you one chance, the other three have already proved themselves too much of a nuisance. Consider it professional courtesy."  
"When last we met, Regin, I was the greater."  
"But things have changed again, haven't they?" Xellos shifted uncertainly. "You don't have destiny on your side any more."  
"Perhaps I'll give you time to consider how I'm going to kill you later," Xellos smiled as he faded away. Regin frowned.  
"He was afraid for someone else," the mazoku frowned. "How very human of him, he'll be trouble."   
  
  
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	15. Lina Found

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Lina Found  
  
  
  
"It seems clear to me, your highness," Reginald began. "Your daughter and her friends disappeared at the same time Lady R'Lyeh and another member of the temple were abducted."  
"You're not implying that my daughter had anything to do with this act of injustice," Philoniel demanded angrily.  
"Perhaps not your daughter, but Gourry Gabriev and Zelgadis Greywyrds do not have the best of reputations, and there was another man I saw. A priest, he seemed, with purple hair."  
"Xellos!!" Philoniel shouted in realization.  
"Do you know of this man?"  
"He isn't a man, he's a mazoku."  
"Mazoku? Then perhaps this is all his doing, such an evil being as a mazoku would not appreciate our temple, but I would not yet discount the part your daughter's companions have in this."  
"Look for them then, but I would speak to them before you decide anything," Philoniel agreed.  
"Yes, your highness," Reginald bowed and walked out of the small study. Philoniel watched him go and called over his captain of the guard near the door.  
"Take measures to investigate this seperately," Philoniel commanded. He then turned to face the window and contemplate recent happenings.  
"Yes, your highness."  
  
They were relaxing their guard, Martina could see that. Reaching the Sailloon border had taken a lot longer considering they were dragging her around and avoiding prying eyes. Martina had recently been causing very little trouble, just enough so that they wouldn't suspect her of planning something. Pretty soon they would give her the opportunity she needed.  
"Can we move more openly now that we're outside of Sailoon," Sylphiel asked.  
"I hate this sneaking about my own land," Amelia whined.  
"They haven't declared us outlaws," Gourry noted. "Why are we hiding?"  
"Because Reginald's people wouldn't let us get anywhere if they could help it," Zelgadis reminded him. "Fortunately for us, Phil is almost rock headed in his beliefs about people. It will take a lot for him to believe that we're outlaws."  
"Like what, pray tell," Sylphiel asked nervously.  
"I'd say it would take either Martina's or Amelia's ravaged corpse," Zelgadis answered without turning to face the priestess. "Which is one of the reasons that Martina is still alive "  
"What's the other reason, stone boy?"  
"Miss Martina, such behavior is not very lady-like."  
"And why should I bother to listen to you, pray tell?" Sylphiel hmphed and let her horse catch up to Gourry's at the head of the group. "Now what were those other reasons."  
"Well, Lina deserves a chance to talk to you," Zelgadis started.  
"My father seems intent on marrying you for another," Amelia grumbled. "Though I hope _that_ doesn't last long. And you don't seem to understand what your involved in."  
"I'm involved in conquering the world in the name of the monster Zomalgustar! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"  
"Sounds to me like she knows exactly what she's involved with," Gourry commented.  
"That is a disturbing thought," Zelgadis said to himself from behind their captive where he and Amelia had some how ended up taking the rear. He didn't think Martina would be interested in being a sacrifice. Amelia pulled up short for a moment and looked quickly from behind them to somewhere ahead, she trotted her horse forward and stopped at the front of the halted party.   
"What is it?" Zelgadis asked as he moved forward to join her.  
"The armor just moved, a lot."  
"That behir hide? Where is it?"  
"How can armor move?" Gourry asked.  
"Just what are you talking about?"  
"That way," she pointed towards the horizon. It was a slight deviation from their current path, at least here it was. "Not very far from us, half a day maybe."  
"Not to agree with the psychopath, no offense." Sylphiel turned her head toward Martina for a moment. The princess didn't answer. "But what are you talking about?"  
"There was this suit of armor being made, we think it was for Lina."  
"So I put a trace spell on it," Amelia finished. "Its not that far from where we were going, but how did it..."  
"Xellos," Amelia and Zelgadis said at once. The chimera turned to face the rest of the party and immediately noticed an absence.  
"Where's Martina?" he snapped, indicating the riderless horse. "Damn it!"  
"She was just here a minute ago," Gourry noted. The chimera dismounted and started looking back over the way they had come. Unfortunately there wasn't much horizon, but rather lots of woods and small hills, they had come this way to more easily avoid being seen. It was working in Martina's favor now.  
"We should catch up with Lina before she moves again," Amelia suggested. "If it is Lina."  
"I can't see her anywhere," he scanned the ground, looking for tracks in ground already hard packed with their previous passage.  
"She went that way," Gourry told the chimera, pointing down a game trail.  
"There aren't _any _tracks there, dear," Sylphiel said. "Even I can see that."  
"There should be a lot," the blonde explained. "She must have dragged her cloak behind her."  
"Gourry, Sylphiel, you two find Martina, we'll meet up with you later," Zelgadis ndded in agreement as Amelia dismounted and picked up a rock. After a few moments of her mumbling to herself she handed it to the priestess. "Keep that with you, it has a trace spell on it."  
"But why do you two go on ahead?"  
"Because we owe Lina some apologies," Zelgadis said. "And I might kill Martina if I found her right now."  
"Good luck," Amelia offered as Gourry turned his horse down the game trail.  
"I hope you find some luck as well," Sylphiel returned cheerfully.  
  
"Oo its beautiful," Lina crooned as she looked over a behir scale greave. "Its so beautiful, *sniff* and I won't be able to wear it for more than a month yet. WAA!!!" Her ears drooped as she cried, cradling the greave like some kind of security blanket. The rest of the armor lay draped about a chair across from her.  
"But you won't be needing it either," Xellos suggested quickly.  
"That's not the point, I look like I've been eating almost non-stop all this time," Lina sniffed. Filia passing by arched an eyebrow as she heard "Rannaur", said nothing, but mentally ran a list of food items that just about proved Lina's statement.  
"You look wonderful," Xellos assured her.  
"*sniff* Really?" her ears perked up.  
"Really."  
"Are you just saying this to make me feel better?"  
"Sore wa himitsu desu." She hit his smiling face with a pillow and gave an exasperated sigh.  
"Xellos, do you know what ice cream is?" she asked suddenly.  
"I don't know, first I've heard of it, why do you ask."  
"Just something that's been bugging me," Lina explained. "I keep having this urge to ask you to get me ice cream and pickles." She shrugged.  
"Val, dear, its not polite to play with other people's things," Filia appeared in the room and collected Val Garv from where he was playing with the other greave from Lina's armor. Then all three of the adults froze as they registered the muffled sound of hoof beats.  
"In there?" someone asked faintly, though it was clear to the hyper advanced senses of the house's inhabitants.  
"It's there," a girl's voice confirmed. "Whether _she_ is, I don't know."  
"It can't be," she whispered and exchanged a worried glance with Xellos. Then somebody knocked on the door.  
"Stay here," Filia said. "I'll handle this." She walked into the next room, leaving a confused Val behind, and opened the door smiling.  
"Filia?" Amelia asked. "This must be the right place."  
"Oh I didn't know it was you," Filia gasped surprised. "Its all right Xellos! Its just Zelgadis and Amelia!"  
"Then Xellos is here?" Zelgadis asked.  
"Yes, he's here with his mate," she stepped to the side and waved them in. "Don't just stand there come in! Were you looking for Xellos?" Amelia entered first with Zelgadis following.  
"Actually we were looking for.."  
"Miss Lina!" Amelia gasped as the were-fox sheepishly entered the room, Xellos was standing protectively behind her. Zelgadis narrowed his eyes dangerously as he recognized Lina's condition.  
"Lina?" Filia repeated then she looked at the embarrassed were-fox as well. "It _is _you!"  
"What did you do to her, bastard?" Zelgadis demanded of Xellos dangerously.   
  
  
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	16. Reunion

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Reunion  
  
  
  
Amelia looked from Lina to Zelgadis and sweatdropped.  
"I think that it's fairly obvious what he did, Zelgadis-san," she said, blushing.  
"That's not what he meant," Xellos said tightly.  
"What did he do?" Zelgadis repeated, glaring at Xellos but not addressing him.  
"What makes you think he had to do anything?" Lina asked. The chimera's glare slackened a bit and he arched an eyebrow at her for a moment.  
"But, Lina what are you doing with a m..."  
"Mazoku," Lina suggested, her ears were laid back and the bushy tail swished irritably.  
"Monster," Amelia corrected.  
"Isn't that just perfect then?" Amelia looked away. "Last time I saw you, you were pretty certain I was a monster."  
"I was wrong."  
"Ran...uh...Lina, perhaps you should sit down," Filia's comment was accompanied by the supporting touch of Xellos's hand on her shoulder. She reached  
up and grabbed the hand in her own and looked up at the trickster.  
"I'm fine," she said reassuringly, eyes fixxed on Xellos's. Zelgadis didn't miss the volumes that passed within that look.  
"This is your choice then?" Zelgadis asked.  
"If anybody was seducing anybody, I seduced him," Lina said still smiling up at Xellos. The mazoku laughed, but Zelgadis merely hmphed, he didn't believe  
that it would have taken much seducing to get together with Xellos.  
"But how did this happen?" Amelia asked. Lina smile turned impish, one of her sharp canines peaking out over her lip. She half turned to face Amelia.  
"Sore wa himitsu desu," she said, before meeting Xellos in a series of small kisses on the lips. "I think I will sit down now." That phrase had clenched it for Zelgadis, she certainly loved the mazoku, but that proved nothing about Xellos.  
"To think that I thought you were dead, and here you were under my nose the entire time," Filia said as Lina sat down in couch and leaned back against Xellos. "When did you get a tail?"  
"How are you like this, now?" Amelia asked. "During the day."  
"I like this form," Lina said, ears twitching happily.  
"This form?"  
"Lina's a were-fox," Amelia explained. "And she's apparently already learned some control."  
"A what?"  
"Already? It took me more than a year to figure it out."  
"Yes, well enough the small talk," Zelgadis commented, finding his own chair to sit down. "We have problems, Gourry and Sylphiel are tracking part of it right now."  
"What problem would that be?" Xellos asked.  
"Martina." Xellos and Lina both turned silent and adopted similar anger filled expressions.  
"Where is she?" Lina demanded.  
  
"Which way?" Sylphiel asked as Gourry examined the ground, he followed the fleeing princess's tracks a little ways and then stopped.  
"She turned off here," Gourry said, ignoring the tracks that continued on around a nearby bend. He stood up and looked around rubbing a piece of bark between his fingers. The blonde yawned, this princess knew a lot of the basics very well. She could compete with some of the kids back home.   
"Up that oak and down over there." Gourry pointed somewhat absently while Sylphiel tried to figure out how he knew all this. She half wondered if they were actually on the crazy girl's trail or not.  
Gourry usually seemed quite out of touch with things around him, until now Sylphiel thought his only real skill lay in sword-fighting. She'd never thought of him as a master woodsman before. He walked quietly over to the indicated spot and turned about in a circle and then looked off to left.  
"How do you know she went this way?"  
"The tracks going around that bend are deeper than the rest, she walked back on them. There was some oak bark in some of the tracks, which means they got there after the tracks were made. There's only the one oak and the grass over here is fairly well crushed, after that she got fairly careless and just walked that way." He sounded like he was treating the question as a test of some sort.  
"Oh," she suddenly felt very much out of her depth. It was about an hour later without any more tracking acrobatics that Gourry stopped and looked at a section of crushed grass.  
"Uh oh," he scratched his head.  
"What's, 'uh oh'," Sylphiel asked.  
"Are you sure you want to go on?" Gourry asked. "There's a lot of people here."  
"Gourry, dear, I couldn't find my way back if I wanted to."  
"Did you just call me dear?" he asked confused.  
"Uh, uh," the priestess blushed. "Yes, I guess I did."  
"Do you like me or something?" Sylphiel's blush deepened.  
"Why...do you ask?" Gourry shrugged and started following the trail of crushed grass.  
"Well I always thought you were nice too."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, your the best cook I know." Sylphiel face faulted and then climbed back to her feet.  
"Thank you, I think." They topped a hill and suddenly it wasn't necessary to follow the trail any more.  
"Hey look, its those bandits again," Gourry noted non-chalantly.  
"Perhaps now would be the best time to go back and get everybody else," Sylphiel suggested.  
"You know, if Lina were here we could just fireball them from here I bet," Gourry said. "Though she's never really liked sitting back and playing it safe."  
"I thought Zelgadis-san said that Lina was a were-fox," Sylphiel said. "She couldn't still cast magic then could she?"  
"Oh yeah, forgot about that," Gourry said. Suddenly the sound of barking dogs ranged from the camp below. "Hmmm, let's run now." He turned around picked up Sylphiel in a swift motion and turned back down the forest.  
  
"You were bringing Martina here and you let her escape?" it seemed to be Xellos's turn for righteous anger. "She knows Lina's alive! And she can lead that bastard right too us!"  
"You know about Master Reginald?" Amelia asked.  
"From a long time ago," Xellos confirmed.  
"He's mazoku? How powerful?" Xellos and Lina looked at each nervously, the were-fox nodded.  
"Stronger than me." Xellos admitted. "We should get out of here."  
"Even if this Reginald is mazoku, Martina isn't," Filia said. "You have some time, and Lina's getting close to her time."  
"I'm staying," Lina declared. "They're almost ready."  
"They?" Zelgadis asked.  
"Two heart beats," Lina said, she rubbed one of her ears then. "I can hear better than you now."  
"Are you sure?"  
"I trust you," she looked at Zelgadis and Amelia then, questioningly. "I think I can trust them." The other two shifted uncomfortably, Zelgadis knew they deserved that. They had virtually dropped her like a piece of junk when she lost her magic.  
"We are standing right here," Amelia commented. Lina fixxed her gaze on Zelgadis.  
"So, what's your point?" she looked to Amelia. "Is that side of the room comfortable?"   
"Lina you don't think..." Zelgadis laid a stone hand on Amelia's shoulder and shook his head when Amelia looked back at him.  
"What else would she think?" the chimera asked her.  
  
  
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	17. Evasions

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Evasions  
  
  
  
"Mommy," Filia turned to look at Val Garv. "Who are those people, and why are they fighting with Rannaur-san?" Filia reached down and picked up the little dragon.  
"They're old friends of mine and Xellos'," Filia told him. "They just got a bad start with each other. They're going to stop fighting now, aren't they?" She leveled each of them with a glare.  
"Its our fault," Amelia said rising out of her chair. "We should go I guess, find Gourry and collect Martina."  
"No, no," Lina protested, the anger left her voice. "I'm glad to see you, really."  
"Is there room for us here?" Zelgadis asked. "Plus three more?"  
"It'll be cramped, but I think so. The women can stay in my room, and you and Gourry can stay in the front room. I'll stay in Val Garv's room, and Xellos and Ra...Lina can keep their room."  
"I think she may have dropped the rock," Amelia said.  
"Sylphiel?" Zelgadis asked.  
"Either that or they haven't moved for the past thirty minutes," Amelia said. Lina felt Xellos's grip on her hand tighten.  
"Can you give me the trace?" Xellos asked. "I'll find them." Amelia looked at him for a moment before casting the spell to reveal the trace to all the magicians in the room.   
Lina shifted to let him up and watched him cautiously, he flashed one of his closed eye smiles at her, but she could tell he was nervous. He had been talking about prophecies and destiny off and on since he had discovered who was behind Lina's predicament.  
"Hurry back," she whispered as the mazoku faded away. "I think that I'm going to take a nap." She stood up and waddled towards her room.  
"Come on Val Garv," Filia said walking out of the front room with the boy. "Let's go prepare those rooms."  
"Do I have to mommy?"  
"Yes, it is important to learn about honest labor."  
  
"Not this a-gain, we've possed this 'ere tree six times," one of the men whined.  
"All we've managed to find is a pair of bleeding horses," the second added.  
"Qwa-it, the Lawdy ohdered us to find them 'eros and we's gonna do it." the third asked. The four bandits stopped in the clearing to scan about for some legible tracks.  
" 'Ow we gonna do it wit'ou' dem dawgs?"  
"The lawdy sayid dat the fawks is 'ere."  
"Dat's wot de siver is fo'," the apparent leader of this party shouted. "Ah cant fond any tracks 'ere."  
"I wouldn't worry about it," they turned to look at a slim tall man with a staff and purple hair who was apparently investigating a rock. He looked like some sort of priest. "You have a larger problem on your hands."  
"'Ere now, wot's you then?" The priest waggled a finger at them, smiling behind, completely unconcerned with there presence.  
"Sore wa himitsu desu," he told them playfully. "Did I hear you say something about silver?"  
"If'n you noh wot's good for you, you'd leave."  
"Oh staying is going to be VERY good few me, I can guarentee you that. You four might not like it much though."  
  
Gourry and Sylphiel stopped as the sound of human screams pierced the forest. They continued for nearly a two full minutes before ceasing with a long strangled cry.  
"What was that?" Sylphiel asked. "Did they catch some poor hiker and mistake them for us?"  
"I hope not," Gourry whispered, perched on a rock overhang. He was setting up some sort of trap. After their initial retreat from their position over the bandit camp, Gourry had turned about and resumed his attempts to find and recapture Martina. Sylphiel had confidence in his abilities, but she still would have preferred to rejoin Zelgadis and Amelia.  
"So where do we go from here?"  
"Well I was going by the circle, but that seems like a bad idea now." The circle was a series of deliberately laid tracks and scents that had the one ill-fated patrol wandering in circles for the last hour or so. It was amazing how many similar tricks and traps Gourry had laid without seeming to try at all. The thing was that he didn't really set traps, he laid tracks leading to hazardous or confusing situations. This he could do on the run, and Sylphiel doubted that she had caught even half his gambits.  
"We're heading back to the camp again, aren't we?"  
"With a fair amount of their men looking for us, yes." She let herself be picked up off the ground and held in the tall swordman's arms.  
"At least there's something good about all this," she sighed with mock resignation, happy that her lack of experience in counter-tracking made this a necessary burden.  
"What?" Gourry asked, Sylphiel rolled her eyes as the forest moved past them.  
  
Amelia and Zelgadis sat in a fairly uncomfortable silence, unsure of what to do at the moment. They could hear Filia and Val Garv bumping around in the bedrooms, the child mildly complaining about the work. Every few moments the quiet was punctuated with the sound of Lina snoring.  
"This is a nice place," Zelgadis said suddenly.  
"Its certainly better than those cabins we always end up getting stuck in," Amelia agreed.  
"Nice distance from the town, too," he added.  
"I'd like to be closer to town actually," Amelia noted.  
"That's expected." The silence descended again, filling the few feet between them and making it seem a few leagues.  
"I was wondering something," Zelgadis broke the silence again.  
"What was that?"  
"Something Gourry said when this all started, its been on my mind off and on since then."  
"What was it?"  
"He said that you were attracted to me," he stared at each other blankly for a moment. "I knew it was..."  
"I am," Amelia said, cutting him off. There was another long pause.  
"That's not possible," Zelgadis protested.  
"Why not," Amelia asked.  
"Why do you think?" Zelgadis snapped. "Just look at me."  
"Actually you're very good-looking too, but that isn't what I was talking about."  
"Okay, then what, praytell, were you talking about?"  
"You're a loyal, determined man who's main problem is that you're a little moody sometimes, but you're cute when you're moping so I don't mind."  
"I'm cute when I'm...?" he blushed slightly, a surprising feat considering his stone skin. "You can't possibly be in love with a freak like me."  
"Why can't I?"  
"Because...." he couldn't think of any practical reason just off the top of his head. "Just because."  
"Do you love me at all," Amelia asked, deciding to get all her cards on the table now that she was ahead.  
"You deserve better than me."  
"I don't want better than you. And that isn't what I asked"  
"I might never find my cure."  
"Zelgadis-san, that doesn't matter. If a mazoku and a werefox can get together, why not me and you."  
"Do you really think Lina is happy with...him?"  
"You're avoiding the question, but yes they seem quite happy to me, as much as I fail to understand it."  
"Okay, yes I do have some feelings for you," Zelgadis admitted.  
"Would you marry me?" Amelia asked. Zelgadis's eyes widened and the chair fell out from beneath him. The shocked chimera tumbled to the floor and then looked back up at her.  
"What did you say?"  
"I asked if you would marry me, after we settle this latest problem, of course." Zelgadis righted his chair and considered the question for a moment, looking into Amelia's hopeful eyes.  
"This is a reverse," Zelgadis grumbled. "You really want me, you can't find anybody else?"  
"Yes, who else would I want?"  
"If we survive this, I'll marry you," he agreed finally. Amelia virtually squealed in joy and enveloped the golem in a tight hug which he was fortunate not to feel through his skin. "One thing Amelia, about Xellos and Lina."  
"You're going on about that again?"  
"Bare me out, even if he does love Lina, his soul isn't his own, what could Xelas force Xellos into doing." Amelia considered the problem carefully and shivered, what did Xelas think about her priest's activities recently?  
  
Floating along and picking out the swordsman's emotions from the crowd of passing bandits was easy. There he was full of optimism and confidence, moving right along side him was a bundle of worry, tension and love that had to be Sylphiel.  
Then he looked towards the the approximate direction of the bandit camp and his eyes blasted open. Regin was here, and it wouldn't be long before he noticed Xellos. This time Xellos would have to fight, and he didn't want that to happen yet.  
The mazoku teleported behind the two humans and then teleported back to Filia's home. Sylphiel screamed and Gourry let out a simple, "what" as the tree vanished.  
"What happened," Gourry asked. Next to him Sylphiel turned around and saw Zelgadis and Amelia. "I was close, I could see them.  
"Zelgadis-san, Amelia-san, how did we get here. The couple pointed absently above the priestesses head, looking up Sylphiel saw Xellos floating above her. She screeched out the trickster's name. "Xellos!"  
The priestess skittered towards Gourry as Xellos landed, smiling as usual.  
"Could you be quiet in there?" a muffled voice called from Lina's room. Xellos put a finger to his mouth calling for silence and then snuck cartoonishly into his and Liina's room. The next thing they heard was a brief spurt of surprised giggles followed by shortly by silence and then snoring. Filia entered the room shaking her head irritably.  
"Okay, let's get you all settled in her for awhile." Zelgadis and Amelia kept quiet on the subject of their conversation. Distractions would not be a good thing at the moment.   
  
  
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	18. The Twins

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
The Twins  
  
  
  
Lina yawned and stretched, blinking herself awake. She could feel Xellos behind her and wiggled back against him, crooning quietly as the still sleeping mazoku instinctively curled his arms around her protectively. It was quiet out in the house, it smelled to Lina like it was still fairly early morning, most everybody was probably still asleep.  
Somebody was awake, the last guard duty probably, tapping a steady but quiet rhythm as they paced the front room. Bored, Lina took the time to sort out the various scents and pegged the watcher as Amelia. Right now that essence of tense watchfulness was mostly emanating from the justice-loving princess.  
Lina hadn't fully forgotten that the slayers had left her behind once, but she trusted them with her life. They had reasons for what they did, reasons that she could understand. That didn't change the fact that they had left her behind when they thought she might become a burden. She was anxious to get this buisness finally over with, then she could find some spot with good hunting and settle down to raising her children with Xellos.  
Lina gasped when the pain flashed by, and she felt Xellos waking up.  
"Lina-chan?"  
She'd been having small pains off and on over the past couple of months, once or twice in the very recent past she thought that labor had started. This felt different, definitely more painful. She realized that this was it, even before she felt the wetness between her legs.  
"Its starting," she said.  
"You're sure," Xellos asked.  
"This time definitely."  
  
"Why are we giving up now," Martina whined. "Seriously Master Reginald, they said she was close by. You haven't even thoroughly searched the area."  
"It doesn't matter," the staid mazoku answered. "They'll come to us, otherwise they are of no concern."  
"That is not what I wish, they've humiliated me!"  
"Do you wish to conquer the world or not?" Martina did not answer. "Because in one week's time you'll be married to Prince Philoniel, and with that title you can conquer the world."  
"Hmmm, yes, I must keep a check on my priorities," Martina agreed. "The world it is then, and after that. After that I shall finally pay back all them for their treatment of me. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!! But why in a week? Could you not just pop us over there?"  
"I could but that would arouse suspicion," Reginald answered. "And the prince has been snooping around enough already. Remember, he will not believe that his daughter is anything but an innocent victim in all this."  
"Don't worry about that, I'll have Philly ready to crack that freak stone-boy's flesh."  
"That is just what we want." Reginald smiled at the haughty princess, her hair dyed all black again.  
  
Amelia winced as Lina cried out again, she almost tripped and spilled the hot water Sylphiel kept asking for. Fortunately she had become much less clumsy over the years and pulled out of the stumble without losing a drop.  
"Here's the water," Amelia averted her eyes from the sight before her, embarrassed. She caught a brief glance at Xellos sitting behind Lina. The mazoku was supporting her physically and emotionally, a look of deep concern and concentration was fitted over his face. The princess was suddenly certain that despite Zelgadis's misgivings that the mazoku did love the small were-fox whose claws were now drawing rivelets of blood in his bare arms.  
"Just set it down there," Sylphiel said. Of them all Sylphiel proved to be the only one with any experience in childbirth, though until now that had been limited to aiding senior priestesses in the process. "I'm going to need some more clean towels by the time this is over, and tell them to keep the water coming."  
"Hai Sylphiel-san," Amelia said and hurried away. Filia was keeping Val Garv out of the way, and with the exception of Xellos, who refused to leave, Sylphiel had forbidden the men entry. Besides they had their own tasks to perform. The end result was that Amelia was doing all the running.  
Lina was handling the pain better than Sylphiel had expected, much better. Maybe after it was over she'd have to ask Lina about it. The priestess washed her hands in the most recent batch of hot water and quickly went back to the task at hand.  
In the front room Amelia was collecting a pile of clean cloths to carry back to Sylphiel. She nodded to Gourry as she passed. The blonde swordsman was moving between cleaning the used bowls that Amelia brought back, keeping the fireplace blazing and filling the clean bowls with hot water out of a large pot on the fire. Amelia looked up at the ceiling, knowing that Zelgadis was sitting on top of the house and watching all the approaches to the house.   
The chimera was worried, this was outside his experiences and there was plenty to worry about. Lina's kids were half-mazoku, and he had heard stories about the difficulty of such births. There were several logical falicies with this worry that he had repeated to himself several time. This didn't help, he might love Amelia, and Lina might not completely trust him ever again, but she was still a friend.  
  
"What's wrong with Rannaur-san?" Val had never gotten into the habit of calling Lina by anything other than the name she had been using when Xellos had first brought her in the buggy.  
"There's nothing wrong with her," Filia answered. He had been paying a great deal of attention to that part of the house the cries were coming from. Actually, Filia was surprised that he had held off asking anything until this point. "She's having a baby."  
"Will I ever have a baby?" he asked, he sounded terrified of the possibility. Filia laughed.  
"No, only females have babies, and besides that you're a dragon," noticing his confused look she clarified. "Dragon women, like me, lay eggs, much less painful I gather."  
"Mommy," he looked up at her, ignoring the sounds of childbirth across the house.  
"What is it Val?"  
"Are you ever going to lay an egg?" Filia blushed and almost lost control of her form.  
"Well, I don't know about that," Filia said, she hadn't expected that question.  
"Why not?"  
"Well....I'll explain it when you're older," she said. Then added under her breath. "Or else Xellos will."  
  
The day was almost past when the first baby cried out, it was another fifteen minutes before its cries were joined by a second infant.  
"You name her," Lina said to Xellos as she cradled both babies as well as she could. Swaddled in some of the cloth that Amelia had gathered up, there were two babies with black furred fox's ears. Lina knew that they both had tails as well, the girl with a thin covering of purple fur, and the boy's with Lina's own red coloring. Both were tipped with a little puff of silver, and sprinkled with strands of the other's coloring. The shock of hair on their heads was similarly colored, and Lina knew that both would fill out over time.  
Lina looked up to see Xellos and her brow crinkled a little. The blood and other scents were doing a lot to overpower her senses, but when she tried she could detect a touch of fear in the mazoku's scent. "Anything wrong?"  
"No," he said, too quickly. "Everything's fine, I was just thinking about Regin, that's all." Amelia and Gourry were sitting a little to the side, now that Sylphiel had relaxed her command. The priestess was somewhere getting rid of the used cloths and the afterbirth, and probably cleaning herself up as well. Zelgadis was still on guard and Filia was still keeping Val away from the scene. Amelia and Gourry had set up a crib that had held Val until he outgrew it.  
"Well, we'll take care of him," she declared confidantly, that explanation did make sense. "We always do, now name her."  
"Only if you name him," he responded playfully.  
"Deal. Now stop wasting time."  
"I'll name her," he thought for a moment. "Xina."  
"That's familiar some how," Gourry looked up to the ceiling and tapped his jaw in thought.  
"I think its a cute name," Amelia said.  
"Thank you for your support, your turn," Xellos said to Lina, smiling.  
"Well, this little one is," she thought about it for moment. "Xalan. Is that too silly, naming them both X's?"  
"They're wonderful names," Sylphirl assured her as she returned. "But now, all three of you need to get some rest. So let's let them have some quiet now." And with that, Sylphiel was back in command, gently ushering everybody out of the room. She then transferred the already sleeping twins, one at a time, over to the crib. By the time she was done, Lina had also curled into an exhausted slumber.  
  
"Well?" Zelgadis asked as Amelia touched down on the roof beside him. "How did it go?"  
"She had twins, just like she said," Amelia answered. "A girl Xina, and a boy, Xalan." Amelia shivered.  
"Are you okay?" he asked.  
"Hmm, oh I'm fine," she said. "I was just thinking about what it will be like when I have to go through that."  
"You'll do fine," Zelgadis assured her, they leaned against each other and watched the setting sun. "You've survived the slayers haven't you?"  
"You're right, I could handle anything after that," she giggles kissed his stone lips, surprising him. "We are engaged now."  
"True," he agreed, and slipped his arm around her shoulders.  
"What's Xellos doing?" Amelia pointed out the priest on the ground below them. As they watched he vanished away.  
"That's a good question," Zelgadis said. The odd behaivor ruined the romantic mood for both of them, and they settled for just watching the sun go down in silence and close to each other.  
  
"You called, Master?"  
"Don't be smart, Xellos. You cut me off."   
  
  
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	19. Problems at Work

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Problems at Work  
  
  
  
"It would have been a mistake for me to leave at the moment you called," Xellos explained. Xelas, in her human form, stood up languidly and approached her general. She exhaled a cloud of smoke into his face and arched an eyebrow.  
"You have been behaving erratically over the past year and a half," Xelas noted. "Disappearing at odd times, interferring with matters that have nothing to do with me or you. And now, now I call and you don't only refuse to answer, you actually close the link."  
"I was not aware..." Xellos started.  
"You did not even know you closed the connection," she snapped, circling him.  
"I have not failed you, Master," Xellos offered.  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"You assigned me to watch over the gold dragon and her adopted child," Xellos said. "I have not failed in my assignment."  
"I've been having you watched," Xelas said abruptly, walking to her throne and sitting down.  
"What?" he asked levely, insulted.  
"Be careful how you speak," she warned him.  
"How can you think that I.."  
"I warned you to take more care with your speech." For a moment the Beastmaster's human form melted away leaving a giant wolf roaring in anger. Xellos went to his knees and examined the floor as she calmed down and returned to human form. "I do not need to have a reason to watch you. I can do whatever I wish with you, and there was a time that you knew that."  
"I still know that," Xellos answered.  
"Do you?" she asked. "Perhaps you are having thoughts."  
"I don't know what you mean by that."  
"Do not insult my intelligence." She exhaled another cloud of smoke that floated to the top of her chamber and joined the growing cloud above. "Perhaps you can explain why you've been spending so much time hiding and protecting Lina. The sorcer...oh I'm sorry, she can't cast magic any more...can she?" Xellos frowned at the floor.  
"Regin is back," Xelas blinked and lost her momentarily amused expression. Xellos restrained his amusment at her disturbed expression, it would not help matters if she picked up on that. "I believe you said that he should be stopped as soon as he showed his face again."  
"I know my own decrees," she snapped. "If that is so, then why is the rogue not put down already?"  
"He is....greater than before," Xellos admitted from his kneeling position.  
"I see, and you think Lina is another of the five from that ridiculous prophecy of his."  
"He believes so, it was him that arranged her current condition." Xelas arched an eyebrow and Xellos hoped that his general anger at the moment had hidden the rage towards Regin.  
"And that is the only reason that you are leading her along?" she sounded doubtful.  
"Well, there are some other perks," he smiled lustily.  
"So I understand," Xelas returned the smile. Then her face turned hard again. "We'll have to do something about her after Regin is dealt with."  
"Why waste the effort?" Xellos asked, looking up. "Without her magic she'll grow old quickly, even as a were-fox."  
"And of course the children will prove useful," Xelas mused, ignoring Xellos. The priest's face remained impassive, but there was another spark of rage.  
"It would be simpler just to let them be," Xellos suggested, a little louder. Xelas extended a hand outward and Xellos was thrown back against a wall. Xellos climbed to his feet with the aid of his staff, then he was struck into the wall again. This time he didn't try to stand.  
"You will remember not to question my decisions," Xelas growled.  
"I only meant to save you some trouble, Master," Xellos gasped. The small crater in the wall grew again as he was struck again.  
"It really is too bad that you weren't born mazoku," Xelas' voice had a mock mourning quality. "I wouldn't have to periodically remind you how things work around here." Xellos laughed.  
"If I hadn't been born human," he coughed. "I wouldn't understand them, and I wouldn't be as capable as I am."  
"Understanding the walking meals is fine," Xelas agreed. "Just don't act like them. The very idea is disgusting." Xellos did not speak as he rose to a kneeling position. "We'll discuss the fox later, if she really is all that good, perhaps I'll find a place for her here." She leaned back and grabbed a gobblet of wine sipping it as she pondered that idea. Xellos regarded her calmly, he was already healing and his normal cheerful expression had returned to his face.  
"We shall discuss Lina again," he promised, the Beastmaster, having already mentally dismissed her general, failed to notice the threatening intonation behind the statement. Xellos vanished away from the island.  
  
"You can find out nothing about Lady R'Lyeh's temple," Philoniel asked.  
"Yes, your highness," the captain responded.  
"And this lack of information is why you don't trust them?"  
"Your highness, I could find nothing on them beyond what they themselves claim," he said. "There is no information on them, no leads, no rumors, nothing."  
"That is suscpicious," Philoniel agreed. "Perhaps my daughter discovered something about them and she and her friends endeavoured to save R'Lyeh from their vile clutches."  
"As you say sir," the captain said enthusiastically.  
  
The mazoku stumbled towards Filia's house and sat down outside. He had mostly healed Xelas's beating, but he didn't want to walk in there even as he was. He leaned back against the wall and rested. Ten minutes later he vanished again and stood by the bed as Lina snored on.  
"I promised you that I wouldn't let anyone hurt you again," he whispered, brushing one ear which twitched at the slight touch. "That includes her."   
He kissed Lina's forehead and laid down on the empty side of the bed. Lina rolled over and reached her arms around him, Xellos worried for a moment that she was awake and had heard him. Then the were-fox snored again and clutched closer to him, and he relaxed.  
  
"Well, it isn't what I expected," Zelgadis admitted.  
"What did you hear?" Amelia asked.  
"From the sounds of things Xelas is threatening Lina," Zelgadis said. "And Xellos seems set on getting in her way."  
"He does love her then," Amelia whispered wonderingly.  
"Let's hope the beastmaster waits until after we deal with the current problem," Zelgadis said, not commenting on Amelia's comment.  
"Don't worry about it Zelgadis," she wasn't calling him Zelgadis-san anymore, but that was as informal she got at the moment. "We had no reason to trust him."  
"I've misjudged situations too much for my liking recently, what if I'm wrong about?"  
"I hope you're not doubting me," Amelia gasped.  
"No I don't doubt you," he said, confidently. Amelia smiled then.  
"Well, good night," she gave him a quick kiss and walked off towards the girls' room.   
  
  
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	20. Feast Before the Storm

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
The Feast before the Storm  
  
  
  
Lina yawned and stretched as she woke up. She blinked sleepily and   
disengaged herself from Xellos gently. The spell of blood was still strong   
in the room, at least to her it was, but there was also the lingering scent   
of healing. Lina shrugged that puzzle off. She didn't remember entering   
that state of forced wakefulness and enhanced awareness, but she had   
certainly dropped off fast enough after all the festivities.  
Lina stepped quickly over to the crib and peered down at her children and   
was filled with a quiet sense of wonder. Sylphiel had obviously cleaned them   
up and they lay there looking clean and fresh. They even smelled fresh, she   
realized as she filtered out the rest of the room. She leaned over, resting   
on the edge of the crib and sighed.  
Xina's ears laid back in irritation, Xalan's ears shortly followed suite.   
Lina cocked her head and heard a faint grumbling, or rather two such sounds.   
Then both children blinked awake and barely a second later began wailing.   
Lina winced at the loud, piercing sound and then reached down to pick them up.  
Xellos snapped awake behind her and immediately scanned about for the   
problem, relaxing as soon as he noticed Lina carrying the twins with a gait   
that demonstrated both half-panicked urgency and precise caution. Having   
been around while Val Garv was just infant he recognized the scene, of course   
dragons had different needs than humans and the species related to them, but   
that didn't change the similarity..  
"Could you hold Xina for a moment," Lina asked, handing over the wailing   
purple-haired child. Xellos blinked and obliged while Lina sat down on the   
bed with Xalan and the opened the front of her dress, which had obviously   
seen better days by now. "Okay, I can take her now."  
"You were already awake?" he asked sitting next to him and back against   
the head of the bed. Lina was nervous, this wasn't her first time feeding   
them, she had done that soon after they had given birth, but she was still   
new at this.  
"Yep," she answered. "I hope it didn't wake everybody else up too."  
  
Gourry and Zelgadis stood with swords drawn scanning the area for about   
five full seconds before they finally realized that it was just Lina's twins.   
They breathed a sigh of relief and replaced their swords.  
"Looks like dawn is coming soon anyway," Zelgadis, turning to face   
Gourry. The blonde swordsman had already fallen asleep. The chimera   
face-faulted and then rolled his eyes as he stood up again.  
"Well I can get some practice out of the way then," he said, stretching   
as he walked outside with his sword.  
  
Amelia had woken up to the sound of Xina and Xalan crying, as had   
Sylphiel, though the priestess had gone right back to sleep upon identifying   
the source of the sound. Amelia stretched, blinked and then watched the odd   
image of a shambling Filia, eyes half-closed, open the door to the room she   
was sharing with Val Garv and start walking to the kitchen.  
The princess followed her out of curiousity for a little while, then   
pulled ahead of the zombie-like dragon-maid and waved her hand back in front   
oh Filia's face.  
"Filia?" the dragon-in-human-form showed no sign of recognition for a   
moment. Then she blinked in confusion.  
"Huh, what?" she looked around, noticing that she was no longer where she   
had fallen asleep. She blushed slightly and looked confused. Then Lina's   
kids quieted down. "Oh, Ra...Lina's twins."  
"Are you okay?"  
"Fine, I'll go back to bed now."  
"Uhh, okay." Amelia shrugged and walked towards the front room herself,   
noticing that Zelgadis was draped on the couch or about the floor like   
Gourry, she walked outside. She found him working a sword kata behind the   
house, out of sight of the road.  
Amelia sat down quietly and watched as the chimera twirled his sword   
expertly. Mentally she edited out the sword and imagined the interplay of   
stone flesh and muscle under the baige travel clothes. The thought sent a   
pleasant shiver over her flesh. Then one of his manuevers turned him about   
to where he could see her for a moment. He blinked, lost track of what he   
was doing and landed hard on his back.  
"Oh!" Amelia rushed over to check on the chimera, and managed to get   
there as he was sitting up again and rubbing his back. "Zelgadis, are you   
okay?"  
"I'm fine, you just surprised me," he answered back, embarrassed. Her   
initial concern over with, the rather comedic image of Zelgadis twisting off   
his feet and crashing to ground overwhelmed her. She burst into   
semi-hysterical laughter leaning on Zelgadis's shoulder as the laughter kept   
coming.  
"I'm glad you think this is funny," he said tightly, though when Amelia   
looked up she could see him smiling as well. She found the idea Zelgadis   
even hiding laughter nearly as funny as him landing on his back, her laughter   
didn't calm down for several minutes.  
"Its almost here," Amelia said, quietly. Zelgadis nodded, all of them   
had been adventuring long enough to recognize the taste of approaching   
battle. They gathered together closely and watched the rising sun.  
  
Sylphiel's return to sleep had been partial and, as the sound of laughter   
worked its way from outside, short lived. Seeing that the sun was rising   
anyway she got dressed and walked out into bulk of the house. Filia   
certainly had a large house, though then again she was a dragon, she'd want a   
large dwelling, even if she spent most of her time in human form.  
She found Gourry draped across the floor, sleeping in his armor, drawn   
sword in his hand. He had probably woken up when Lina's kids started crying,   
and then fallen asleep again without putting his sword in the sheath.   
Sylphiel rolled her eyes, walked into the kitchen and started cooking. She   
and Filia were going to remain behind with the three children, but that   
didn't mean she couldn't feel the coming battle, and cooking would get her   
mind off of it. It would also probably wake up Gourry.  
In the last couple of days she found that the kitchen was kept incredibly   
well stocked, though that made perfect sense to the priestess. After all   
under this roof lived two dragons and Lina Inverse. Of course dragons could   
thrive without food for days, even when they needed to eat they could just   
swallow dirt or whatever else is at hand and be perfectly happily. The point   
was dragons still preferred to eat vast amounts to meat and such and Filia's   
stores reflected that. And Lina Inverse of course had an appetite to match   
any dragon.  
Sylphiel tried to imagine what was like to feed a pregnant Lina and   
shivered. It was a wonder that Filia hadn't been bankrupted by the effort.  
"You know, that smells good," Sylphiel smiled up as Gourry entered into   
the kitchen and sat down at the small table in the middle of the room. She   
put a large bowl of some meaty substance in front of him. "What's this?" he   
asked smelling the thick substance.  
"Something I picked up recently, haven't tried it yet." Sylphiel said.   
Gourry spooned a bite into his mouth and decided it tasted pretty good. He   
swallowed ten more heaping spoonfuls before the after taste hit him. "The   
girl who showed me the recipe called it April Fool's Chili. I think her name   
was Discordia"   
Gourry's eyes had shrunk to pin pricks and while he was trying to talk,   
nothing was coming out but quiet gasps. The swordsman stumbled outside to   
the water pump and started vigourously pumping out water into his mouth until   
the spice burn cooled down. Then he walked back into the kitchen and sat   
down again still fanning his mouth.  
"It's supposed to be pretty hot, so I think you should eat it fairly   
slowly," she checked her various dishes a moment and decided she had some   
time to sit for a little while. She bowled at a little of that "chili" and   
moved to sit across from Gourry, noticed his red sweat drenched face and   
glanced nervously at her bowl of chili. "Gourry, are you okay?"  
"Yeah, I was just very hot for some reason," he asnwered. Then he looked   
at his bowl of chili and looked back at her. "What's this stuff again?"  
"Chili," Sylphiel said, rolling her eyes and using the short version.   
They both looked at their bowls, shrugged and started eating. Again it took   
a while for the aftertaste to hit, and then they were both rushing for the   
water pump.  
As both were desperately swallowing water, their lips met. Both of them   
blinked in surprise, and Sylphiel blushed madly. Then they both moved   
forward, really kissing this time under the dwindling flow of water.  
"Oh," they heard a surprised gasp. Sylphiel, blush returning in full   
force, to see Amelia in her night clothes walking around the corner of the   
house with Zelgadis-san. "We're sorry."  
"Princess Amelia, I'm surprised," Sylphiel responded. "It isn't   
lady-like to be walking around in your night clothes." Amelia and Zelgadis   
arched an eyebrow.  
"And kissing under a water pump in full view of the road is," Zelgadis   
asked.  
"Uh, I have to go check the food," Sylphiel responded, dodging the   
answer. She stood up and walked into the house looking like a soaked, human   
tomato. Amelia and Zelgadis turned their glances to Gourry.  
"Excuse me," he said. "I have to go finish my...." he grasped at the   
word, scratching his forehead. "....chili." Then he went inside as well.  
"We should probably be inside too," Zelgadis said, not specifing the   
bed-dressed Amelia.  
"I wonder what chili is," Amelia asked as she walked inside.  
"Hot! Hot! HOT!" they both turned and sweatdropped to see Xellos working   
the water pump furiously. It was only a moment later that Lina came rushing   
by, tail swishing madly and ears extended in full alarm. The were-fox   
kneeled next to her mate and greedily swallowed as much water as she could.  
"I'm guessing that everybody is waking up," Zelgadis said. "Shall we go   
have breakfast?" Filia ran by carrying a gasping Val Garv, Zelgadis and   
Amelia had to dodge her whipping tail.  
"M..m.m.moovaahh," Filia managed to get out past spice burned tongue.   
Xellos and Lina, spice burn down to a managable level got out of the way and   
settled for fanning their mouths while Filia and Val Garv cooled their mouths.  
"Let's eat slowly," Amelia suggested, finally they managed to get inside   
and walked to the kitchen. They sat down at the table and stared   
suspiciously at the bowls of what looked like a meaty stew Sylphiel quickly   
set in front of them. Looking up they saw Sylphiel cooking and, most   
disconcerting of all, Gourry taking very small bites of his bowl of chili.  
"Uh? Do you want to go first?" Zelgadis asked.  
"Not sure, how about you?" Amelia responded. Zelgadis gulped and took a   
small bite.  
"Hey, this isn't bad," he said, and spooned out a larger bite.  
"Really," Amelia asked. She took an experimental taste.  
"It doesn't hit you..." Sylphiel turned around to see Amelia pause in her   
normal rate of eating at about the same time Zelgadis dropped his spoon.   
Then both were rushing outside. "...right away." Sylphiel finished   
apologetically.  
"What do you make this stuff out of, Sylphiel," Lina demanded as she and   
Xellos came back in and sat warily in front of their bowls of chili. The   
priestess took a glance at the recipe on the counter, shoved it into   
concealment and giggled nervously.  
  
"Your highness," Philoniel turned to regard the herald, an apprentice   
probably. "Lady R'Lyeh has been found, she has sent messages that indicate   
her to be about five days ride from here."  
"This is excellent news," Philoniel declared. "The cause of justice will   
always be victorious! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"  
"She's travelling here now with Master Reginald of the temple of She with   
a Thousand Young," the shouted last part of the message cut off his laughter.  
"Any word on my daughter or the other slayers?" Philoniel asked.  
"Lady R'Lyeh sends word that your daughter is still being held captive by   
her old companions and that she alone escaped them."  
"I see," he arched an eyebrow and looked to the captain of his guards   
across the room. The soldier nodded understandingly.  
"She also wishes for the marriage to take place immediately upon her   
arrival, so that you might," and his voice took on a quality of dictation.   
"confront these traitors of justice with all the force of your love."  
"Good, find the court herald and make arrangements," he told the herald.   
The boy bowed and left the room to run on his assignment. "We play their   
game for now."  
"Why not move against them?"  
"There is no proof of wrong doing anywhere," he answered. "Without proof   
it would be unjust to act."  
"I understand, your highness" the man bowed. "It remains in the slayers   
hands for now then?"  
"For now," he agreed.   
  
  
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	21. Private Plans

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Private Plans  
  
  
  
The man appeared to be a humble monk, merely a minor follower of what was apparently a young cult. The thick robes hid a wicked knife and the much-scarred form of a common thug. His scowling face could be mistaken for reticence considering his garb, but a closer look saw that it was more like boredom and restrained anger.  
Over the last two days more and more of these thinnly vieled thugs were joining the temples numbers. So far most of them had been kept in out of the way tasks that made them hard to find, much less observe.  
That is, they would have been hard to find if something like them hadn't been suspected already. As the cloaked thug doled out stew to the seemingly unending line of beggars and the poor, at least one of the bedraggled was casting his glance surreptitiously about the small complex.  
Like the camouflaged thug, under his outer garments was a fighter's body. This man was a professional soldier, however. Even in such a peaceful kingdom as Sailoon one such soldier was more than equal to three or four of the thugs he had seen so far.  
The Temple of She with a Thousand Young was building up military forces, and quickly. They were planning something for the prince's wedding day, and probably the festival. The disguised guardsman nodded his thanks to the grumbling thug, who was making a credible attempt at sounding like a charitable, if silent, worker of good deeds. Then the man handed his bowl quietly to another of the throng and walked off to make his report.  
Across the way a third party that could, alone, defeat all of them and more besides, arched one eyebrow, barely visible under a deep baige hood.  
  
"Hmm," Xellos leaned back against the wall of the old cathedral he had decided to perch on. He would rather have stayed behind with Lina to help her with the twins, but he was the only one of them that could teleport. So he had to stay until the other mazoku finally showed his hand.  
The fact that the other scout was Zelgadis did not ease matters. The two had spent the first hour staring each other down before they finally got to the business of getting a sense for the lay of the land. The chimera was watching Regin's temple at the moment, and Xellos was taking the time to think about the mazoku's actions.  
They had heard that Prince Philoniel was planning on going through with the wedding as soon as "Lady R'Lyeh" arrived in town. There was going to be a large public festival involved. Regin's followers were supposed to be present in strength to bring relief to the hunger pains of the needy. Xellos smiled at that description, but all in all it sounded like a day of incredibly bright and sunny emotions, not something most mazoku would want to be involved with.  
"Unless," Xellos's back straightened as he realized something. "Perhaps you could have actually brought the Old Ones here after all." He smiled viciously, then stood up and vanished, reappearing in the back corner of a tavern. Sitting down in the table nearest him was the rather sullen chimera.  
"You're late," Zelgadis noted. "Where've you been?"  
"Sore wa himitsu desu," Xellos smiled, he loved doing that to them. Zelgadis glared at him  
"Xellos," the chimera growled.  
"I know how Regin is going to open the gate to the Old Ones," Xellos said. "But they're not here yet."  
"How?"  
"Mazoku magic, I can handle it," Xellos assured him. Zelgadis narrowed his eyes and glared and the mazoku, who merely smiled back. "And what did you find out, might I ask?"  
"Prince Philoniel is not as unaware of the situation as he seems," Zelgadis answered. "His guardsmen are watching Reginald's men, and a number of Martina's bandits have entered town as well."  
"Whatever is going to happen is going to happen soon," Xellos nodded. "Perhaps I should return to my perch."  
"One thing Xellos," the mazoku turned to face the chmera, curious. "I don't like you."  
"This is hardly a news flash."  
"Let me finish, I don't like you, but Lina is a friend. Don't try to take Xelas on by yourself." Xellos's eyes narrowed as he appraised the chimera. Then his face returned to its normal cheerful expression and he laughed.  
"Xelas isn't going to be a problem," he assured the chimera. "Not a problem in the least." The mazoku laughed quietly before vanishing away.  
"He's up to something," Zelgadis grumbled, hoping that it wouldn't be something they would have to worry about soon. It would be stupid to take on Xelas now, the mazoku had to know that.  
  
Regin and Martina rode at the front of the column, about one third of her ladyship's bandit forces, all dressed as monks. The thugs were unhappily armed with easily hidden knives and innocent looking quarterstaves. Still it was enough for what they had planned. By the end of the day Martina would come into power, Regin had promised this to her many times over.  
As they topped the hill the city below came into view, a glittering gem sitting at the bottom of the downslope. The City of Justice, Martina's lip curled derisively, the name was more than moderately hypocritical. While the so-called rulers of the land did have the best interests in mind, so often their decrees pietered out after being filtered through layers upon layers of bureaucracy. Still it was one of the most respected kingdoms on the continent, and it was a fitting place for Martina to regain her lost status. After all wasn't that Saillon brat that brought the damned Lina Inverse down on her? Yes, Amelia's kingdom would be Martina's seat of power.  
"You have been studying I assume," Master Reginald asked her.  
"Of course," Martina answered. "Though I still think your exercises are rather silly."  
"You will not think so after the ritual."  
"You mean the wedding to my one true love?" Martina asked.  
"That is one way to put it," Reginald answered monotonously. "You will be sure to taunt the prince before you kill him?"  
"I wonder how he'll take the truth," Martina pondered the coming bloodshed. "I've taken care of Lina, now it is Sailoon's turn! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"  
Regin arched an eyebrow and then whipped to stare at one of the buildings along Sailoon's skyline. For just a moment he thought there was something there, and then nothing. Emotion never showed much on the staid face of the seemingly plain mazoku, but he was scared. All five of them were alive and together. He wouldn't let Regin know it, but that had been the true reason that he refused to chase them to Inverse's shelter.  
The end was coming now, for victory or defeat, but he was no longer so certain of his victory. The mazoku glanced irritably to his left, and spotted a large raven sitting on a tree. If he didn't no better, he could have sworn the beast was laughing at him.  
  
Xellos appeared again in front of the chimera.  
"They're coming," the mazoku said simply.  
"Why are we waiting here then?"  
"Zelgadis, you're a third demon, correct," the mazoku asked. Zelgadis arched an eyebrow.  
"You know that," he confirmed. 'What game are you playing Xellos?'  
"At some point you'll see a stream of energy running somewhere," Xellos told him. "Only you and I will see it out of us."  
"Because we're the only ones with mazoku blood," Zelgadis said calmly. "And what am I to do about this energy stream?"  
"You've seen the amulet Lina wears?" he asked.  
"I recall that it used to hang about your neck."  
"That's the one," Xellos said smiling. "Well, keep an eye on it. It won't be long after the energy stream appears, that amulet will start to crack. When you see that I want you to cast a Ra Tilt into the energy stream, and don't tell Lina about this."  
"I need a reason, Xellos."  
"Its a matter of my family's..." he paused, considering the word and the part of him that was still human after all those centuries enjoyed the sound of it. "Yes...my family....it is important to their survival."  
"Why, what are you up to?"  
"Sore wa himitsu desu," Xellos answered cheerfully, ignoring Zelgadis's growl. "Remember, when you see the amulet crack cast the spell, don't wait or you might have serious problems." Then the annoying mazoku vanished.   
  
  
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	22. Pure Flow

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Pure Flow  
  
  
  
Prince Philoniel stood before the kingdom's high priest, patiently awaiting the arrival of his bride and whatever plot the Temple had planned. Surrounding him were most of the nobles and merchants of the city. Liberally placed through out the room were guardsmen. All of them were carefully watching everybody, but they also seemed to be waiting for someone.  
There were, in fact, more guardsmen than were normally seen in one place at one time. Of course that only made sense. In addition to the fact that this was a royal wedding there was the fact that Lady R'Lyeh had already been kidnapped once already. If any gathering needed increased protection, it was this one.  
Behind the rather irritable high priest, he'd been called upon with hardly any warning at all, stood the thrones. One of which had not been displayed in what the collected nobles thought was far too long a time. The presence of both royal thrones represented, more than anything else, the hope they had for this marriage.  
As the nobility and merchant class of Sailoon sat and waited, the common people and many of the younger scions of the noble houses were engaged in the quickly developing festival outside. As luck would have it, or Regin had planned it, the marriage was falling on the date of a pre-existing holiday. That combined with the joy and charity surrounding the royal wedding was causing the day to rise to almost mass euphoria.  
The streets were flooded with people in all manner of party dress, costumes extravagant and simple. Even the destitute of the city were getting into the party with costumes provided by Regin's Temple. It was a constant stream of colors and people, with the odd bit of magic thrown in by a minor spellcaster or two to further liven the day. The illusionary dragons were especially decorous, emotions were running high.  
Considering the overall variety and festive attitude it was odd that so many people had chosen to dress up as monks or guardsmen. That was, until you realized that they were guardsmen and monks. If you were paying attention enough to notice that, then you would easily notice that the monks weren't really very monk-like. And if you noticed that, it was an easy leap from there to notice that the guards and the monks were watching each other like hawks.  
Nobody much noticed five cloaked figures walking in a tight line through the crowds. One of the smaller figures had taken the lead, mostly out of long habit still not broken by more than a year and a half mostly on her own.  
"I hope this doesn't take long," Lina grumbled from under her cloak. Grumbling and trying to force her way through the crowd were currently her only methods of expressing irritation. For the first time in months, Lina was in full human form.  
"Well some things apparently don't change," Gourry commented.  
"What was that?" Lina snapped.  
"We're trying to sneak in," Zelgadis reminded them. "Not alert the entire city that the slayers are here."  
"You could bring a tavern down around its ears and they wouldn't notice us," Lina commented, stressing the you almost unconsciously. She didn't generally think about her lost magic any more, but it still rested uncomfortably under the surface.  
"This my city, I can't believe I'm sneaking into my own home," Amelia grumbled in mood decently similar to Lina's.  
"Hmm, I wonder if its a female thing," Xellos commented. The other two guys considered this under their hoods.  
"Xellos, dear."  
"What is it Lina-chan?" the mazoku responded playfully.  
"Please be quiet, we're trying to sneak in."  
"Don't you even think about agreeing with him," Amelia snapped at Zelgadis.  
"Me agree with Xellos?"  
"Okay, silly idea."  
"Maybe sometimes." Amelia almost fell to the ground when the chimera added that last comment. She righted herself quickly, looked about at the other slayers, cloaked though they were, and smiled slightly. Gourry was right, some things didn't change, and she was glad of that.  
"Come on, the passage is this way." Amelia led them along to one of the few places relatively free of people. The fact that the palace garbage heap was here might have had something to do with that.  
"Nice place for a secret passage," Zelgadis commented.  
"Yeah, who could stand to get close enough to it to search," Lina agreed.  
"I've just completely re-evaluated my impression of your family, Amelia," Xellos added. Amelia and Gourry looked and saw that all three of them were near to tears. Amelia wondered what the place smelled like to people with enhanced senses of smell, and sweatdropped.  
"Oh, sorry," she said, opening the passage and letting the three non-humans rush past her and release strangled breaths.  
"What's wrong with them," Gourry asked. "It wasn't that bad." Lina, Xellos and Zelgadis glared at the blonde swordsman who just shrugged it off as usual.  
As soon as the passage was closed behind them, Lina shifted again to her preferred form. She was glad in a way that the armor didn't have scaled breeches, it would have been difficult to explain why she needed the armor designed with a hole for a tail.  
"Let's not waste time," Zelgadis commented calmly.  
"You go on ahead," Xellos said suddenly. "I have to find something."  
"You were the one that insisted all five of us, and only us, go," Amelia pointed out.  
"This is my part to play," Xellos explained. "I have to keep the gate from opening. To do that I need to find where it has been prepared." Lina sniffed at the air and stared at her love. There was a scent there that she didn't know and didn't trust.  
"You're not going to do something stupid, are you?" she asked cautiously.  
"Don't worry about me, I have everything well in hand," Xellos promised. Lina narrowed her eyes, but the scent said he was telling the truth.  
"Be careful," Lina said, and on impulse she embraced him quickly.  
"I will, you don't have to worry about anything," he said brushing her ear before fading away into nothing. Lina stared in confusion at where he had just been in her arms before turning about.  
"Well? Let's get on with this!" she growled. Amelia blinked and started leading the way through the passage, Zelgadis lingered, remembering his conversation with the mazoku.  
"What are you up to, Xellos."  
"Are you coming stone-boy!"  
  
A somber procession of men in monk's robes moved through the halls of the palace under the watchful eye of the city guard. At the group's head was Regin, still appearing to be a staid, emotionless little man. Only now people were actually meeting him eye to eye. His unimpressive appearance wasn't causing him to be overlooked anymore, too bad for the pathetic humans they hadn't bothered to pay attention to him earlier.  
Most of the humans didn't notice anything about him that they didn't see before. One or two, however, recoiled as they met his gaze. The slit pupiled gaze of a mazoku. Regin would have preferred that they not suspect anything at all, but he could use this preparation to his advantage.  
Behind the procession, in a position of respect walked Martina. She hardly seemed now like the maniacal princess that she was in truth. Martina walked slowly to the pace of the "monks'" march smiling sweetly while draped head to toe in flowing, silvery white silk. Her eyes were narrowed in what was truly ecstatic anticipation. Regin felt the guardsmen's pity and concern for her, the innocent girl being used by these evil men, and laughed inwardly. When the betrayal came, the Pure Flow would be great indeed.  
As they entered into the great throne room Regin sensed the reverent awe of those humans still unaware of what was coming. The various guardsmen added spices of loyalty and conviction to the rather sickening mass of emotions, with Philoniel's own righteous desire for justice, and love for his "Lady R'Lyeh", completing the revolting combination.  
The rogue mazoku suffered through it as the ceremony proceeded ever onward until it came to the culmination of the ritual. That would be the point where all the hope and love and expectation of the masses would be at their highest. That would be the point at which they would be the least prepared for the strike. That would make the reversal of emotions as great as possible. That would....  
"In the name of Justice I demand that this wedding come to an end!" All eyes turned to see Amelia Wil Tesla Sailoon gesturing down the aisle in front of her well known companions. Regin's expressionless face broke into an enraged snarl.  
"DO IT NOW!!" The mazoku's magic carried the message far and way, its volume never dropping from that roar, fading away only at the edges of the city. Wedding guests looked from the slayers to Master Reginald in blank surprise, celebrants in the streets quieted in confusion, and monks across the city brandished knives and started randomly attacking anybody in reach, just as they had been ordered to.  
Regin rushed upwards towards the bride and groom. Philoniel placed himself in front of the on-rushing mazoku, not noticing that his bride was drawing a blade of her own. Regin wasn't interested in the prince however, he batted the huge man aside with a strength that could only be ascribed to creatures like chimera and mazoku. Martina stared in open shock and unbelieving betrayal as her "servant" extended an arm and blasted a hole through her chest.  
Throughout the city in a single instance, hope, joy, and happiness was suddenly converted into hate, fear, and despair. The sudden reversal heightened the new emtions above and beyond what they would have been if the attack had taken place on any other day. Runes had been painted and carved in out of the way places by thugs and monks not really aware of what they were doing. These runes collected, concentrated and channeled the force of the collected terror of the city along a specific route.  
Zelgadis's eyes popped open as he saw the faint trails of energy collecting into one mass stream and leading away deeper into the palace.  
"That's what he was talking about," Zelgadis said, turning his glance to Lina's amulet. "But what is he planning." They entered battle trying to fight there way to the murderous rouge mazoku.  
  
Inside the top of the palace's highest tower, Xellos watched as the energy collected into a drawn circle of the guard post, and explode upward through the roof. Only he, Regin and Zelgadis would have been able to see what caused the tower's roof to be demolished. All the humans would see were the shards of stone and wood raining down on the courtyard below.  
"A pure flow," Xellos smiled. "Thank you, Regin." He stepped up from his seat and walked into it.   
  
  
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	23. Plans Enacted

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Plans Enacted  
  
  
  
She drifted through the darkness confused, shocked and overflowing with unbridled rage. She had been promised power. She had been promised a kingdom. She had promised the chance to humiliate hat meddling old man who whose diplomatic mission had sent the slayers her way in the first place.  
She had not been promised betrayal. She had not been promised that flash of burning pain. She had not been promised death. She had certainly not been promised this endless darkness. That utter and complete helplessness of her situation magnified her rage beyond anything it had ever been in life.  
In this lightless place her total and complete rage seemed to have a physical, if indeed this was a place where physical things existed, presence. She could have sworn that she felt it rippling outward, and reflecting back towards what seemed to be her body. She was not sure how long that she had been floating in that void before the ripples that returned to her weren't the heat filled and impotent rage of her own soul.  
These ripples were cold, alien, and considering. There was one more thing about these ripples that made Martina's lips curl in smile. These ripples carried words.  
  
"R'Lyeh!" Philoniel roared out, and attacked the enraged mazoku. Again Regin was barely concerned at all with the over-sized wrestler prince. He caught an incoming fist and tossed Prince Phil across the room deep somewhere into the battle. It would take a while for the pest to work his way back to where he could annoy Regin again, this allowed tha mazoku to turn all his attention on the approaching slayers.  
As he turned to face them and take account of the forces arrayed against him, his wrath turned suddenly into tremendous mirth.  
"Only four of you!" Regin laughed. "Where is your pet mazoku, did he take my advice and stay out of this battle?" He stopped laughing as he heard the clicking of claws running across marble. Looking down he saw an enraged Lina Inverse charging towards him, short sword in hand and tail extended straight behind her almost horizontal body.  
The mazoku hurriedly released a lightning at the charging were-fox. It was a minor spell of course, but it also didn't take very long to cast. He was surprised when the magically produced electricity merely gathered about the glittering blue scales of her armor and dissipated into nothing.  
The sword slashed into the surprised mazoku's side, but it wasn't a weapon of power and merely rebounded off the little "man's" skin."  
"Elmekia Lance!" that, however, was a problem.   
The Sailoon princess and chimera's linked spell threw the preoccupied mazoku backwards into the rear wall of the great room. He stood up and shook his head clear in time to dodge the blond swordsman's magical blade. They had done nothing significant to him so far, and he laughed as he floated above the general battle and looked at the guardsmen overcoming his thugs and the slayers moving to attack.  
  
_Your master has failed.  
That fool is not my master.  
The point remains that he has failed, the gate will not be opened.  
I do not know what you are talking about.  
Do you wish revenge on the mazoku?  
Yes.  
And you wish to rule over this world.  
Yes, and then to destroy it all in the name of the monster Zomalgustar.  
Not destroy, you will open the gate.  
What is this gate.  
The gate will not open now, but the world boundaries will weaken, it is as we have planned.  
You planned this?  
The stars are not yet right, but this will prepare for when they are.  
You wish to return as our servant?  
Yes.  
  
_Lina glanced at her sword a moment and sheathed it in an angry motion before unfastening her sword belt and letting it fall. The direct attack was not the way she was going to win this. Regin wasn't paying attention to her, more concerned with the actions of the other three slayers.  
The were-fox snarled and moved around behind the mazoku's elevated position. Willing the mazoku to continue not to see her. She jumped rebounded off the wall and landed atop the mazoku. Her sword might not have had power, but her claws did.  
Regin cried out in enraged pain and reached back to grab at the offending were-fox. Lina was gone by the time his hand reached back. He scanned about, the swordsmen was taking the fox's idea and looking for higher ground to come down on the mazoku.  
They exchanged blows and spells for a few moments more, entering into an obvious standoff. Regin snarled in annoyance, this was going nowhere. Then he noticed a fluctuation in the pure flow.  
He teleported, incidently dodging attacks by both Gourry and Lina, and reappeared near the exit of the throne room.  
Someone was channelling the pure flow, but that was impossible. Not only did he doubt any other mazoku would be willing to take that risk, he didn't know of any other mazoku in the....  
"Xellos!?!"  
"Whatever Xellos is doing, its got his attention." Lina shouted, running across the room. "Get him!"  
"Excuse me, I'd love to continue this fight," Regin said in his characteristic monotone. "But I have to see an old friend." The mazoku vanished again.  
"I think I can find him," Zel said. "Let's go."  
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Are you forgetting someone?"  
"R'Lyeh? You're alive? I thought he had killed you my love," Philoniel halted his happy rush as "Lady R'Lyeh" turned a sadistic looking smile at him and rose off the ground.  
"What a foolish man," she snapped. "I never loved you, fool, you were just a tool, don't you get it? HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Her ruined wedding gown vanished to be replaced by her normal mode of dress in a flash. Philoniel looked on aghast as he finally recognized Martina. The slayers stood unsure of what to do, leave this new Martina behind or chase after the other mazoku.  
"You fooled me," Philoniel realized. "I'll not allow my kingdom to fall to hands such as yours! Treacherous witch."  
"Father don't!" Amelia yelled as she watched her father charge the hysterical newborn mazoku. Martina extended a hand outward languidly, drunk on her new power, and a burst of power incinirated the large man as he attacked. "No you damn, Mazoku! Elmekia Lance!!" Her spell was echoed from behind her by Zelgadis and the twin spells barely missed the shocked Martina. At least it shook her new found confidence.  
"Well, I guess I shouldn't get too confident then should I," Martina mused from where she had appeared from her hasty teleport. "Hello there, Lina, enjoying your new life?"  
"Mazoku can die, Martina?" Lina growled, getting ready to attack this younger weaker mazoku. She started to rush forward seeing Gourry do the same, and then she heard something cracking.   
Heard it and felt it, as the warmth emanating from the amulet Xellos had given her fluctuated briefly. She halted and held up the amulet in her hand, it was cracking slowly but surely. She could see the lines radiating outwards.  
"XELLOS!!!" she yelled turning around running out the room, not sure how she was going find him, but knowing she had to.  
Zelgadis noted the were-fox's flight and nodded grimmly, thinking he knew what just happened.  
"Ra Tilt!" he shouted, casting the spell into the stream of energy. The spell entered and flowed along it. The stream may have been invisible to human and lycanthrope eyes, but the Ra Tilt flowed along visible to all, oblitering the pure flow as it went and gaining in power.   
Lina stopped and shielded her eyes as the channeled flow of astral destruction flowed past her. She turned and met Zelgadis's eyes in stunned shock, before racing after the flowing magic.  
Martina looked on and smiled, she was already well on her way to defeat with only Amelia and Gourry to deal with, but she had accomplished all she needed to do for now.  
"Well, I don't think I should stay any longer either," Martina declared suddenly. "I'll see you again sometime! Ta Ta!!" The new mazoku vanished and didn't reappear.  
"Where's Lina going?" Gourry asked.  
"She's going to find Xellos," Zelgadis said simply, he turned to face Amelia and saw that she was working to keep her tears in check. The eyes said it, there was still another mazoku, much more powerful than the fledgling Martina, to deal with. She could cry later.  
"Come on, they'll need help and there's been enough injustice today," Amelia said running after Lina's path.   
  
  
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	24. Xellos's Gambit

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Xellos's Gambit  
  
  
  
The moment he stepped into the flow he was flooded with power. Xellos gritted his teeth in an effort to resist merely being ripped away in the flow. He hadn't felt near this level power in all his existence as a Mazoku. For a long time now he hadn't been surrounded by enough pain, terror and rage to come even close to filling his reserves of power. Now he was going above and beyond what he had thought was his maximum level of power, and it still wasn't stopping  
Xellos turned stiffly to the outer wall and further demolished the tower top, leaving the doorway behind him intact. It was a pathetically minor thing to do with all this power, but he needed to buy some time. He needed to slow down the rate at which power was filling him. The mazoku priest overlooked the city below with vision enhanced sharply by the pure flow filling him, and the faint twinge of burning pain that he was only just now beginning to register.  
Extended his hand outward he picked out a thug here and thug there, and raining death upon him from his position. He didn't particularly care who he killed, beyond the fact that these were the servants of his enemy, but Lina would care. To further dissipate power he filled the room about him with a rather harmless light show that further terrified the people below.   
Battle mostly ceased as everyone merely tried to run from the monster on the tower, not noticing that only the traitor monks were being targetted. This terror entered the pure flow like every other negative emotion, Xellos felt the surge moments later. This wasn't slowing things down enough, that twinge of pain was becoming more noticeable now. Every joint and muscle seemed to hot and stiff, sweat was breaking out in rivelets running down his face.  
"He's not here yet," mumbled. "I need more time." The mazoku circled his arms in, gathering power, and then thrusting his staff upwards. A blast of black red energy erupted into the sky harmlessly flying into the space beyond the world. The power it took to produce even that eruption of power was quickly refilled.  
Xellos leaned on his staff, he didn't know how much longer he could continue this. If Zelgadis fulfilled his part in the plan and he was stubbornly trying to buy more time for Regin to arrive then nothing would be accomplished but his death. That last display had slowed down the building pain, even alleivated it some, but it was coming back. He had to do it now, before the pain was too thick for him to think clearly.  
Xellos stood calmly in the center of the pure flow and tapped his staff twice on the hard stone beneath him. Then space around him began to warp, the sensation was easily recognizeable. For the barest instant, two places would become one and then split again leaving the teleporter in a new place entirely. Only this time the instant was slow in coming and it wasn't leaving.  
Regin appeared suddenly in the hall outside the doorway.  
"I never thought of you as one for self-sacrifice," the rogue smiled as he walked into the demolished tower top. He noticed the warping effect immediately and realized that his enemy's full power was concentrated on shaping it, for whatever reason.  
"You're...late," Xellos wheezed. He let slip his effort to merge the other location into this one and dropped a circular wall of force around him and the rogue mazoku. He almost lost the merger, but recovered in time to keep the effect building.  
"And just what do you plan to do with all that power," Regin asked glancing amusedly at the force wall. He knew there was nothing he could do to Xellos at the moment, too much power flowed around him, but he didn't need to anyway.  
"Sore...wa...hi..mitsu...desu," Xellos managed something like his normal cheerful smile as the spacial warping solidified into Xelas's throne room. He was there, he was in the circle at the top of the tower. The two places were now one. Behind him was the remainder of the tower top's wall and the entryway beyond, all else was Wolf Pack island, it was a bizarre merging.  
"What is the meaning of this, Xellos?" Xelas asked irritably. Xellos wasn't fooled, the Beastmaster recognized the pure flow. She knew her general well enough to know that he wouldn't go through all this if there wasn't a plan somewhere. She had already tried to teleport out of her throne room, and failed. Xellos had locked them in.  
She was afraid, and Xellos could feel it. He could feel it twice over in fact, his master's fear had been sucked into the pure flow in a particularly painful surge. Regin didn't seem to understand though, he was just enraged and irritated. All he could see was Xellos wasting energy that he had planned to use for breaking the walls seperating this dimension from the old ones' prison.  
"I...promised....that we'd....discuss....Lina again..." Xellos answered through gritted teeth. "I won't...get...another chance." He laughed wearily, this was taking tremendous effort, and keeping his power reserves relatively low. Still the old saying held true, half a dozen of one or six of the other, the result is the same. Not only could he exhaust himself utterly this way, he was still being filled despite how much power he was using.  
"And you think burning yourself away and making me watch is going to accomplish something?" Xelas asked. "You think I'll be happy that she inspired further disobediance?"  
"Problems at work, Xellos?" Regin asked quietly, Xelas glared at him, but she couldn't do anything. Regin wasn't all there, caught on the edges of Xellos's place merging. He couldn't leave, but the amount of power it would take to do anything significant would be tremendous.  
"You....know better...." Xellos suddenly closed his eyes and slipped down the staff to his knees. "It shouldn't...take...much longer." He laughed again, still obviously in pain.  
"Stop this now, Xellos!" Xelas demanded. "If you stop now, I'll spare your little pet's life!"  
"Lina's...nobody's pet," he spit the last word. "It won't...take long...now."  
"Oh what are you going to do?" Regin asked. "You've got nearly limitless power, but you're already at the limit of how much you can do at one time."  
"So..re...wa...himit...su desu," Xellos smiled. He was breathing heavily, and again that burning pain was filling his body.  
"XELLOS!!!" the named mazoku's smile ended as he heard Lina's voice. He struggled to his feet and turned around watching the approaching light of Zelgadis's Ra Tilt. Regin and Xelas saw it two, Regin was suddenly afraid and trying to break out of the fringe of non-being bordering the Sailoon palace and Wolf Pack Island. From Xelas, there was a kind of angry resignation as the building spell came closer.  
"LINA, DON'T COME IN!!!" Xelas smiled then from her throne, there might be a way out after all.  
"What's it going to be Xellos?" she asked. "Kill me or save your little human lover, if you even have the strength to do that."  
Xellos gritted his teeth considering, the Ra Tilt would follow the pure flow and open the barriers temporarily, and Lina would follow behind. She would be here when it finally struck the circle he was standing in. That could not be allowed to happen.  
Xellos pushed himself further, unaware until now that he could channel so much power. He didn't plan on living either way, so the pain didn't matter, only keeping Xelas trapped here long enough for that Ra Tilt to rip through the astral side of Wolf Pack Island.  
Xelas growled as she felt the bonds of the merger reconnect from Xellos to the pure flow itself.  
"No! Xellos, stop this now!!" she stood up and blasted an stream of energy at her traitorous servant. It merely swirled away, sucked into the pure flow about him, she had known that would happen, but she was desperate. "Stop now and I swear by L-sama that nothing will happen to your family! I swear it!!"  
Xellos tumbled from the pure flow to the floor, he had succeeded. The merging of places and the lock in depended on the flow rather than him now. Xelas saw this and fired several more energy bolts at his prone form, all swirling into the pure flow. Xellos climbed up his staff onto his feet as the Ra Tilt finally rounded the corner as a bloated crackling stream of killing power.  
It ripped through the region of non-being with Lina rounding the hallway corner just behind it. Xelas roared in impotent fury as she saw her betrayer dive into and through the Ra Tilt spell. If the pure flow hadn't taken him beyond the point of survival this was sure to, but Xelas didn't consider that. She only saw her general pushing the charging were-fox back as the Ra Tilt ended in the pure flow circle.  
"NOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed as the boundless energy within exploded outwards in uncontained fury.  
Xellos's merger died as the flow exploded, releasing Regin from his private prison as a fringe of the greater effect slammed into him and the two slayers. Compared to the fury no doubt tearing through Wolf Pack island, this was nothing. Regin felt his astral side ripped from all the directions as he was thrown against the remains of the wall.  
It didn't even last a full second, the merger ended and suddenly those still in Sailoon were spared the destruction. All three remained still and unmoving for a long moment, before any of them began to stir.   
  
  
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	25. Prophecy Fulfilled

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Prophecy Fulfilled  
  
  
  
Zelgadis and Amelia felt a ripple in the weave of magic, and paused to look out a window. There was nothing to see, whatever had happened had taken place beyond the horizon. Gourry past the two wary spellcasters disappearing around a bend in   
"What was that?" Amelia asked as they started running again. It had taken only one look out a window to realize where Xellos and Lina probably were. "Gourry, wait up! How are you going to find the tower?"  
"I don't know what that was," Zelgadis admitted. "It was big, very big."  
  
The first thing Lina was aware of as she blinked back into the waking world was a weight settled atop of her. Her senses were still confused, and she replayed what had happened while blinking her eyes and clearing her nasal passages. She had been chasing Zelgadis's Ra Tilt, then she came up into what looked like another throne room, Xellos jumping out of the Ra Tilt's tail and pushing her back. Her eyes snapped open wide as memory and her nose identified what...who was on top of her.  
"Xellos?" She sat up, lifting the mazoku as she did. The mazoku didn't respond, he merely limply let Lina settle him to the ground gently. Lina fearfully noted the sweat streaked face and shallow breathing.  
"Hold on," she said half-hysterically. She didn't think he was awake, but she needed to say something. "Just hold on, I'll go find Amelia, it'll be fine." The were-fox started to stand letting him down gently. She had forgotten about Regin.  
Lina stood up and started running towards the downward stairs, when suddenly she was suddenly moving much faster than she had intended. She slammed into the wall outside the demolished room and then dropped to the ground trying to draw back in her breath.  
"He's not dying first!" Regin shouted at the prone were-fox. He punched downward with a energy shrouded fist. Lina snapped up well before the mazoku's blow landed.  
"Why didn't you just throw me off the tower?" she asked, noting that Regin didn't appear in very good shape. The astral explosion left no physical marks, but he smelled hurt and he was weaving dizzily.  
"Don't insult my intelligence, the fall wouldn't kill you," he gathered energy and released it. Lina dodged again, and then charged to attack. Her opponent released a blast much quicker this time and Lina only barely dodged. The blast grazed her side, heating the behir scales before continuing on into the wall. Her armor may have spared her the blast's touch, but the impact still threw her off balance. This time she did go over the side, and catching the lip of the devestated tower room as she past it.  
"So why didn't you just fall?" Regin mocked as he looked down at her.  
"And leave you up here with my Xellos?" she snarled.  
"You don't have to worry about him," Regin told her. "If he's the first to die, the prophecy is fulfilled and I'm doomed." He leaned over and held his palm in her face where she could watch it gathering power.  
"Xellos ISN'T dying," Lina snapped. Regin smiled and then his eyes flew open in astonished surprise as he flew over and past Lina into the open air. She climbed up to the tower room and saw Xellos pointing out with his staff and leaning heavily on one arm.  
"Get away from her," he muttered before his arm gave way and he fell limply again. Lina rushed forward and set Xellos to lie on his back against the wall, he settled with a trembling sigh.  
Beyond Regin had gotten control of his descent and swooped about rising slowly back to the tower.  
"Xellos, don't worry, I'll get you to Amelia," she picked up the half-conscious mazoku supporting him on her shoulder and heading downstairs. "She'll heal you. Everything will be fine."  
"Lina....stop," Xellos whispered.  
"There's no where to run, Inverse!" Regin roared behind them.  
"No, we have to get you to Amelia," Lina ignored the other mazoku.  
"Amelia...can't help," Xellos gasped, he wasn't helping in their flight at all, Lina wasn't certain that he could. She almost screamed for joy when she saw Gourry coming up from below.  
"Lina, Xellos, down!" the swordsman yelled, the were-fox obliged and Gourry leaped over the pair of them to intercept the enraged mazoku behind them. He slashed out and took a hand as Regin rose them up in instinctual defense.  
"I don't care! Any of you is as good as the rest, just as long as that fool doesn't dies first." He lashed out with his remaining hand and missed the ducking swordsman cleanly. Then Lina and Xellos passed around a turn and they could only hear the battle.  
"Even...even if she could heal...ma..zoku," Xellos said. "There's....not enough ....left to heal." They hit a landing and Lina could hear and smell Amelia coming up along with Him.  
"She's coming, Xellos," Lina ignored him, and sat down at the landing, cradling his head in her lap. "It'll be fine, she's coming." She frantically brushed the sweat matted bangs from his face and rocked him gently.  
"It's...no use...." Lina leaned over him and wept.  
"Why?" she asked through sobs. She faintly registered the fact that the battle was getting closer. Xellos smiled, his normal cheerful expression still strong on his face, and reached up to brush one of her black-furred ears, as he had done so often in the recent past. The mazoku answered her question, and though anybody else would have heard "Sore wa himitsu desu," Lina recognized the words "because I love you." Then Xellos's eyes, open for this last moment, glazed over and the his hand dropped to ground below.  
"NOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" Lina screamed as the amulet around her neck finally shattered completely. The remains slid off her neck as she desperately rocked the cooling form she held in her arms. "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DIE!!! AMELIA!! AMELIA HELP!!!" Amelia and Him rounded the corner to see this and halted again.  
"He needs to be healed, Amelia, he needs to be healed." Amelia leaned down and saw the sightless eyes and the lack of breath.  
"He's dead, Lina."  
"Then he needs to be ressurrected."  
"He's mazoku, it can't be done." Lina snapped a glare up at the chimera.  
"This is your fault! It was your spell!" Regin and Gourry appeared above her and she whipped around to look at them. The swordsman was holding his ground well considering the power of even this severely wounded mazoku.  
Lina set Xellos's body gently to the ground and stood up. She released the straps on her armor, letting it clatter to the ground around her. She snarled at Zelgadis once before charging up the stairs.  
If she could hold this form in the day, why not another. Why couldn't she take the form of something bigger, stronger.. Something more given to the wild vengence she wanted to take on the true architect of all of this. Zelgadis and Amelia watched amazed as Lina grew and shifted into the Fourth Aspect.  
The mazoku finally managed to blast Gourry away, and the swordsman landed in a pained pile on the landing below. He found an enraged lycanthrope in his path and tried to back away. A clawed hand whipped down and across his abdomen, widening a slim cut obviously given by Gourry's blast blade. He tried to conjure enough energy to teleport and failed, suffering for the failure by the loss of leg to the lycanthrope's jaws.  
Amelia rose from checking Gourry and ascertaining that he was more or less okay, he just had to clear his head a little. Then she walked forward.  
"Come on," she shouted to Zelgadis, who was staring at Xellos's body.  
"There's nothing that can be done?" he asked guilt-filled.  
"Not for him, but we can kill Reginald," Amelia reminded him, trying to pull him back to the situation at hand. Zelgadis nodded grimmly and looked up at the one-sided battle between exhausted mazoku and enraged were-fox.  
"Elmekia Lance!!" both shouted together, and let fly twin streaks of power that struck Regin full in the chest, blowing him upward.  
"I can't fail!!!" he shouted as Lina pounced on him and ripped the mazoku's head off. Lina whirled and snarled at the chimera below, enraged at him. She glanced at Amelia once and then let go of the Fourth Aspect.  
"Its over," Lina said wearily. Then she glared at Zelgadis.   
  
  
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	26. Aftermath

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Aftermath  
  
  
  
Lina watched the country side fly by from within Amelia's Raywing silently. Amelia periodically glanced back at her friend concerned. Amelia was aware that give Lina a ride like this only served to remind her of two things she didn't need a reminder for. Of course it yet again brought up the fact that she could no longer cast magic. Worse than that, though, it tore into the fresh wound of Xellos's death. If the mazoku were alive, she'd be travelling much faster. She thought back to the scene immediately after Regin finally fell.  
  
"It's over," Lina said wearily. Then she glared at Zelgadis.  
"He asked me to cast the Ra Tilt," Zelgadis said. Lina just continued to glare at him. "I didn't know what he had planned."  
"You didn't tell ME!" Lina roared and charged forward, the rags of her traveling clothes falling behind. Zelgadis didn't do much more than brace himself as Lina reached and shoved him back against the wall. She reared back on her legs as Zelgadis stepped from the wall and prepared for her next move.   
They held position for a long moment and Amelia was on the verge of leaving Gourry momentarily and stepping between them. Then Lina slumped and shuffled over to where Xellos's body still lay. Zelgadis remained tense as she dropped to her knees next to the fallen mazoku. The were-fox closed his eyes and brushed aside his bangs.  
"Why?" she whispered and then just stared. After that, Amelia left a healed Gourry to guard her while she and Zelgadis went to find her some clothes and hear reports of the rest of the fighting.  
  
Amelia sighed, since then Lina hadn't said much more than "yes" and "no" since then. She had been crying before they found her, Amelia had noticed that, but she hadn't see Lina cry at all. The princess looked about and saw that they were almost to Filia's house, it was amazing at how much quicker Raywing was than sneaking across the country.  
"Okay, that's enough," Amelia said suddenly, bringing them swiftly but gently to earth.  
"Why are we stopping?" Lina asked quietly.  
"You can't afford this Lina," Amelia lectured.  
"I'm fine," Lina protested languidly.  
"You are not fine," Amelia told her. "You're in shock."  
"Just leave me alone."  
"No, I left you alone once, I'm not going to do it again."  
"I'm alone any way, Xellos is dead." Amelia closed her eyes in repressed frustration. She took Lina by the shoulders and turned her around.  
"You are NOT alone. I'm still your friend."  
"You left once, and you're in love with Him." Lina's voice finally took on some emotion as she mentioned Zelgadis even obliquely. "He's in love with you, too, and you both know it. I can smell it whenever your next to each other."  
"Okay, but what about your children Lina. They going to need more than a half-present sleep-walker."  
"Xina and Xalan, they'll never know...him..." Lina thought about them, Xina's purple hair and Xalan's eyes. Then she blinked and started crying loudly. Amelia relieved let the were-fox lean on her and cry against her shoulder. The princess had come a long way since that night when she had been afraid to let Lina out of a set of silver-threaded manacles.  
"Why did he do it? We could have beaten Regin, we were almost winning without Xellos. Why did he have to get himself killed? He didn't even succeed, Regin lived, and that's...that's not like Xellos." Amelia sighed, she thought she had the answer.  
"He wasn't trying to kill Regin," Amelia said quietly. Lina sniffed and looked at her friend.  
"What are you talking about? Who else was there to fight?"  
"After you had the twins, he went off somewhere and came back beat up." Lina thought back and remembered the scent of healing in the room when she woke up that morning. "We think it was Xelas, but we never asked him to be sure."  
"Why didn't anybody tell me about this?" Lina snapped.  
"We didn't know for sure," Amelia explained. "And we weren't going to let Xellos know that we were spying on him."  
"Zelgadis knew," Lina spat, she stepped away from the dark haired priestess. "Xellos sat and planned out his own death and Zelgadis helped him."   
Lina knew many things. She knew that Xelas was far too big a fish for the Slayers now that Lina was without magic. She knew that Zelgadis probably hadn't even considered that Xellos would willingly sacrifice himself, he had always considered the mazoku completely selfish.   
"He didn't mean for this to happen Lina," Amelia tried to appeal to her usually excellent sense of logic. What she knew and what she accepted, however, were two different things. She didn't accept that this had been the only chance to take out Xelas, and she didn't accept that Zelgadis hadn't let Xellos walk into his grave.  
"He never liked Xellos," Lina countered.  
"Lina..." Amelia started. She was at least relieved that the were-fox was acting more like herself again.  
"No, he knew what Xellos was planning," Lina asserted. She turned toward Amelia. "Come on we shouldn't waste any more time, I haven't seen my children in three days. Filia and Sylphiel should be told that we're..." she faltered. "That we won."  
  
"Lina, thank Cepheed," Sylphiel declared as Amelia and Lina landed in front of Filia's house. "We were getting worried."  
"Get inside before someone notices you just flew here!" Filia snapped. "Wait....flew here, but why didn't Xellos just..." Lina looked away as she passed Filia into the house. Filia faced Amelia and the princess shook her head somberly.  
"What happened?" Sylphiel asked Amelia as they both followed into the house.  
"Xellos is dead." Amelia said after seeing Lina walk into her and...her bedroom abd check on her sleeping children.  
"What?!?" Filia and Amelia both fixed the priestess with a glare.  
"How'd it happen?"  
"You felt the ripple in the weave?"  
"Yes, if it hadn't come from the wrong direction I would have thought it was you," Sylphiel admitted.  
"I think Xellos caused that," Amelia said. "He had some plan involving a stream of energy that only he and Zelgadis could see and..."  
"A pure flow?" Filia asked  
"What's that?" Sylphiel looked and saw Lina engrossed in her kids.  
"It's a mazoku thing, always thought it was legend actually," Filia explained to the priestess.  
"Whatever it was, Regin made it, we think Xellos used it to kill Xelas."  
"And he died in the process," Filia nodded. "That's in the legends too."  
"We came to tell you, and bring you to the funeral."  
"A funeral?"  
"A state funeral," Amelia confimed. "A hero's funeral."  
"Sailoon is giving a mazoku a state funeral?" Sylphiel blinked in near shock.  
"Xellos would have loved the irony." They all nearly jumped at Lina's voice. "Filia can you take us back? I think you can fly faster than a Raywing."  
"Sure Lina...are you okay?"  
"No, I'm not," Lina admitted with a glance at Amelia. "But I think I will be. Come on I don't want to leave him waiting any longer."   
  
  
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	27. The Funeral

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
The Funeral  
  
  
  
Lina was moderately happy that she could walk around in the second   
aspect, virtually had to. If she were to walk around in human form then   
people would look at her kids and might figure out that she was a shape   
changer. It would be easy to figure out she was a werecreature from that.  
She prefered this form anyway, the speed, strength and enhanced senses   
gave her a sense of security that made up for the loss of her magic. Today,   
however, she half wished she couldn't hear most of the conversations.  
"The princess has....interesting taste in friends."  
"That swordsman is the most normal of them."  
"If you call some one with that little intellect, normal, I was thinking   
about her..." Lina could hear the pause as the man sneered in distaste. She   
privately wondered hhow they would compete with Gourry on the road.   
"...fiancee." Lina agreed with them on that. Zelgadis was too single   
minded, it was creepy, and she was certain that was the trait that had gotten   
Xellos killed.  
"There's the priestess and that blonde woman."  
"Priestess is okay," the man admitted. "But that blonde, there's   
something, different, about how she acts."  
"She used to travel with Lina Inverse, by L-sama."  
"That's not as bad as this....Xellos Metallium, and that harlot fox-girl   
mooning over his unholy corpse." Lina snarled quietly.  
"On top of everything else, this....this indignity."  
"A mazoku in the Tomb of Heros."  
"A higher mazoku, a dark lord's general no less."  
"He was probably helping those Temple maniacs."  
"This is a hideous miscarriage off justice."  
"Oh what does it matter, the royalty just for show anyway."  
"This is hardly what we wish to show the other kingdoms." Lina tried to   
ignore the conversation as the funeral continued. It was just part of   
civilization. She had never liked gossip, the road had ALWAYS been her home,   
since she was old enough to walk it. You didn't have to worry about   
small-minded envious little jerks like the fops behind her, not when you were   
in the wilds.  
Lina was having enough problems takinng care of her children without the   
extra bother of worrying what a pair of pointless nobles thought about her.   
She was lucky that they hadn't asked to be fed yet, but just the awkwardness   
of trying to carry them both around was a challenge. Fortunately, Filia was   
willing to help, especially with advice, even if said advice was more fitting   
for dragon infants than true humanoids.  
Lina remained sitting in the great hall of the Tomb long after the   
ceeremony had ended. Her friends and Zelgadis were gathered about the   
entrance, giving her a respectful space. The chimera was trying to avoid   
looking at Lina, it seemed that Zelgadis agreed with her assessment of his   
responsibility in Xellos's death. About ten minutes after the ceremonial   
hall was emptied, Zelgadis broke away from the other slayers.  
"That's not a good idea," Amelia warned him.  
"There are things she has to know."  
"I can tell her about the note," Amelia pleaded. "She really does blame   
you."  
"I know," Zelgadis didn't deny the responsibility at all. "But she won't   
do anything to me, definitely not with her children around."  
"What are you talking about?" Gourry asked.  
"Lina blames Zelgadis for Xellos's death," Sylphiel explained.  
"Oh, how did he die anyway?"  
"We're not really sure," Zelgadis muttered, though in his mind he   
repeated the name of the spell. 'Ra Tilt.' He continued walking away under   
Amelia's wary eyes. The chimeraa heard a low growling as he neared Lina, her   
ears laid back flat against his head, and his eyes could almost see every   
strand of fur along the exposed section of her spine rising on end.  
"Go away," Lina growled.  
"I have to warn you."  
"Someone should warn Amelia."  
"You're wrong about this being over."  
"Regin's dead, Martina won't be a real threat for years yet," Lina picked   
up her twins and started walking away.  
"Regin was summoning the old ones, Lina." The were-fox stopped and   
turned to face him.  
"You expect me to believe he was dealing with creatures that are supposed   
to predate our world?" Lina asked angrily. "Xellos said this guy had some   
crackpot prophecies, but seriously."  
"I don't think Xellos believed it was possible until just before   
he....made his plan."  
"What does it matter either way, we stopped them." She started walking   
again  
"I was directed to the Necronomican by a black-furred raven."  
"So?" Zelgadis followed silently a few feet behind her.  
"There was a note, 'stall them now, their end will come with the next   
generation,' do you get it, Lina. The next generation, like your kids,   
maybe." Lina had reached the gathering of Slayers and turned to face   
Zelgadis again.  
"Stay away from me and my children," she repeated, her deadly tone   
warning him that she was serious. "Filia, I'm ready to go now."  
"I want to go home to, mommy," Val Garv insisted.  
"We're going now," Filia assured him, taking Xina off Lina's hands for a   
moment.  
"You're not staying for the wedding?" Amelia sounded dismayed.  
"I'm not welcome here," Lina said glancing at the stragglers from the   
ceremony working their way across the courtyard outside. "I might bring the   
twins to see their father one day, but I can't stay any longer right now."  
"These humans are...tiresome," Filia agreed.  
"Take care," Amelia hugged her friend, being careful about the infant in   
her arm.  
"Gourry, Sylphiel," Lina nodded to them.  
"We'll see you later then, I guess," Gourry said.  
"Hopefully not too much later," Sylphiel added.  
"Hey, you never know," Lina declared softly. "Farewell until then." She   
nodded to Filia and the two walked through the courtyard to an isolated spot.   
Then Lina, Val Garv and the twins were riding the gold dragon's great   
reptillian back into the sky.   
  
  
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	28. Slayers Seperate

  
Kitsune Lina  
  
  
  
Slayers Seperate  
  
  
  
Sailoon was recovering, and doing it very well considering. For the   
first month or so one would have thought that the capital city had been   
struck by a plague. In a way it had, but the people came together well, and,   
much to the chagrin of the surviving bureaucracy of nobles and merchants, the   
remaining slayers pitched right in to help. Many of the lesser nobles took   
the example and stepped in to help as well, with in a month the city seemed   
more or less as it had before.  
Of course the sheer number of deaths that had occured before the   
guardsmen could catch every single cultist meant that some lands were now   
without lords. This meant the raising of lesser nobles to high positions,   
and in many cases, the founding of a new noble house by royal decree. The   
old powers of the kingdom didn't like this, but remained helpless to stop it.   
  
The fools might have seen Zelgadis as a peasant freak, but he had proven   
incredibly adept at preventing assassinations on him or Amelia. Also Amelia   
might have seemed naive and vulnerable at first, but she was proving to be an   
effective ruler, and just as unsurprised by people randomly trying to kill   
her as Zelgadis. They tried, one by one, and were found out one by one.  
Amelia and Zelgadis's wedding was the final blow to the ego of the old   
houses, the commoners had been invited. It was also the last attempt at   
assassination, resulting in the final blow to the old establishment. The   
bureaucracy had died when Regin betrayed the kingdom, too many nobles and fat   
merchants had died, and the new generation was too strong. Within three   
weeks of Amelia and Zelgadis's wedding, only one or two of the great houses   
remained, and they were near to dying out from lack of heirs.  
"Too bad Lina decided she had to go," Amelia sighed one day, looking out   
the window of their bedroom. "She would be glad to hear what most people   
have to say about Xellos."   
It was true, the common people didn't have the education to know much   
about mazoku. They knew that someone named Xellos Metallium had died in   
destroying the traitor's spell. Legends were already growing around what had   
been seen on the top of the tower that day.  
"She's right about me," Zelgadis said suddenly. Amelia turned to face   
him, then walked over and leaned against his back.  
"You didn't know what he was thinking, Zelgadis," Amelia comforted him.   
"How could you?"  
"I should have guessed, he practically said farewell to Lina in the   
tunnel," Zelgadis noted. "But its too late now."  
"Yes, let's just concentrate on our life now, not the past," she turned   
him around gently and looked into his eyes. "If we pay too much attention to   
the past, the present will get us."  
"Or the future," Zelgadis whispered as he hugged Amelia.  
  
"You're not mad that I turned down the offer of a title are you?" Gourry   
asked Sylphiel.  
"No, whatever gave you that idea?"  
"I don't know, you just seem rather quiet."  
"I was thinking about what your homeland must be like."  
"Well, that's easy enough to fix, why don't we go there?"  
"We are, Gourry-dear," she answered.  
"We are, oh yeah, that's right." Gourry thwacked his head and then   
smiled. He loved doing that to people. "Are you sure about this? Its   
mostly just elves, aren't many humans this way yet."  
"I'll make do," she smiled at him. "If they give me any trouble, I can   
always make chili."  
"Yeah, that'll be good for a laugh," Gourry agreed.  
  
It had taken long enough, but she finally had a creditable home. Finding   
a cave had proven easier than she had at first thought it would be. It had   
to be a cave, something with natural camouflage and lots of space. She   
didn't really like the idea of a cabin anymore, too many avenues of attack.   
This cavern, that Filia had found had helped excavate, was huge, dry and had   
already been carved into rooms by something. There was a small pool in one   
corner, providing water, and several well hidden exits.  
Now the natural mansion was well furnished with a little help from Filia.   
Lina suspected that some of the money for the various pieces of furniture   
came from Amelia, but that was okay. She had a home now, in the forest,   
close enough to Filia that she wouldn't have to worry about her kids one full   
and new moons, but far enough from town and the road that she wasn't going to   
be running into many other hunters.  
She sat down in one of the large soft chairs that Xellos seemed to favor,   
at least when he went looking for furniture for her, and sighed. This was   
hardly going to be the easiest segment of her life, especially without   
Xellos. She'd get through, however, she'd faced every other challenge in her   
life. Xellos had bought her this chance with his life, she wasn't going   
to just throw it away.  
The sound of her twins waking up and crying snapped her out of her   
reverie.  
  
Martina shrieked in glee as she rooted out another piece of power. Her   
new masters had directed her here, and though she had protested at first, it   
was a good decision. By the time she had found it the effects of Zelgadis's   
Ra Tilt mixed with the pure flow had faded. Now the essence of destroyed   
mazoku was scattered throughout the whole island. It would take her years to   
find them all, but by then she would have more than enough power to destroy   
Lina Inverse and her friends. More importantly, she would be able to further   
rip the walls of reality for her masters.  
  
I was right, you are here.  
The Old Ones and the Fallen are responsibility, where else would I be?  
I prefer that you don't meddle in my world.  
Everybody prefers that I don't meddle in their world.  
Perhaps if you warned them before appearing?  
Sometimes I do. The Vagabond had a sense of the Lord of Nightmares'   
scowl.  
Are you going to be much longer?  
No, everything is going as I expected it would.  
Good, then I expect this is the last time you'll interfere in my world.   
The Vagabond shrugged.   
  
  
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